photo:
http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/issues/50/images/duvall.portrait.jpg
Biography
Personal life
Duvall was born in San Diego, California. His father, William Howard Duvall, was a former US Navy admiral with French Huguenot roots; his mother was an amateur actress and a descendant of American Civil War General Robert E. Lee. His father was a Methodist and his mother was a Christian Scientist; he was raised in the Christian Science religion, which he still follows today [1].
Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in Annapolis, Maryland near the United States Naval Academy. He served in the United States Army (service number 52 346 646) from 19 August 1953 to 20 August 1954, achieving the rank of Private First Class and awarded the National Defense Service Medal.
Duvall studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York under Sanford Meisner. While struggling as an actor, he worked at a Manhattan post office as a clerk but quit after six months. Duvall said he didn't want to be working at the same place twenty years from now.
Film career
Duval starred in two of Francis Ford Copola's acclaimed works: The Godfather Series and Apocalypse Now. Here is a screen capture from Apocalypse Now when he recites his most famous line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like...victory." This quote was rated the most popular in cinema by a poll conducted by the BBC (see external links).
His screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) but his breakout role was a decade later as Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in A Civil Action and for his role as Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for The Great Santini (1980) and The Apostle (1997) and won for his role in Tender Mercies (1983).
He directed the critically acclaimed The Apostle, about a preacher on the run from the law and Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005. He received star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 2003.
Private life
He is close friends with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, both of whom he's known since their struggling actor days.
Duvall has been married three times:
Barbara Benjamin (1964 - 1975)
Gail Youngs (1982 - 1986)
Sharon Brophy (1991 - 1996)
He now lives with his partner Luciana Pedraza.
Duvall speaks fluent Spanish and maintains a home in Virginia. He has the same birthday as Godfather co-star Diane Keaton. His favorite city is Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an avid Tango dancer.
Partial filmography
A Night in Old Mexico (2006) (in production)
The Berkeley Connection (2006) (announced)
Bee Movie (2007) (filming) (voice)
Lucky You (2006) (post-production) ... Mr. Cheever
Thank You For Smoking (2006) ... Doak "The Captain" Boykin
The Godfather: The Game (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Tom Hagen
Open Range (2003) .... Boss Spearman
Secondhand Lions (2003) ... Hub
Gods and Generals (2003) ... Gen. Robert E. Lee
Assassination Tango (2002) ... John J. Anderson
John Q (2002) .... Lt. Frank Grimes
The 6th Day (2000) .... Dr. Griffin Weir
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) .... Otto Halliwell
Deep Impact (1998) .... Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner
The Gingerbread Man (1998) .... Dixon Doss
The Apostle (1997) .... Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F.
Phenomenon (1996) ... Doc Brunder
A Family Thing (1996) ... Earl Pilcher Jr.
The Scarlet Letter (1995) .... Roger Chillingworth
The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995) .... Mr. Cox
Falling Down (1993) .... Prendergast
Stalin (1992) (TV) .... Josef Stalin
The Handmaid's Tale (1990) .... The Commander
Days of Thunder (1990) .... Harry Hogge
Lonesome Dove (1989) (TV) .... Augustus McCrae
Colors (1988) ...Officer Bob Hodges
The Natural (1984) .... Max Mercy
Tender Mercies (1983) .... Max Sledge
Apocalypse Now (1979) .... Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
The Godfather: Part II (1974) .... Tom Hagen
The Conversation (1974) (uncredited) .... The Director
Joe Kid (1972) .... Frank Harlan
Tomorrow (1972) .... Jackson Fentry
The Godfather (1972) .... Tom Hagen
Lawman (1971) .... Vernon Adams
THX 1138 (1971) ... THX 1138
The Revolutionary (1970) .... Despard
M*A*S*H (1970) .... Maj. Frank Burns
The Rain People (1969) ... Gordon
True Grit (1969) .... Ned Pepper
Bullitt (1968) ... Weissberg
The Detective (1968) .... Nestor
The Chase (1966) .... Edwin Stewart
Captain Newman M.D. (1963) .... Capt. Paul Cabot Winston
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) .... Arthur 'Boo' Radley
Preceded by:
Ben Kingsley
Best Actor
1983
Succeeded by:
F. Murray Abraham
