ROBERT DUVALL (Graham Weir) was born in San Diego, California, one of three sons born into a military family. At the age of ten, Robert and his family moved to the East Coast where he grew up primarily in Annapolis, Maryland. During that time he spent several summers at his uncle’s ranch in Montana.
Duvall’s father, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, encouraged Robert to pursue a life in the military. The future actor compromised by majoring in history and government at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, where his family lived at the time. He later switched to the drama department where he earned his degree.
In 1955, following a two-year tour of duty with the U.S. Army, Duvall moved to New York and enrolled in the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse on the G.I. Bill. Sanford Meisner, a respected acting coach, was the first to recognize Duvall’s potential and cast him in Tennessee William’s "Camino Real" and Horton Foote’s "The Midnight Caller."
The fledging actor, who supported himself by working at the Post Office and as a janitor at American University, shared an apartment with two other struggling actors, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. During this time, Horton Foote recommended the young Duvall for the role of the mysterious Boo Radley in the now classic "To Kill A Mockingbird." It marked Duvall’s screen debut and the first of several collaborations with Foote.
In 1965, Duvall won an Obie for his performance as the hero in a revival of Arthur Miller’s "A View From the Bridge." Miller was so impressed by Duvall’s performance that he continued to provide valuable career assistance over the years.
A standout role on the live television series "The Naked City" gave Duvall’s career a major boost and helped him win roles on many of the top dramatic TV shows. Duvall spent most of 1966 on Broadway in the hit show "Wait Until Dark."
Duvall’s other credits during the 1960’s include "Captain Newman, M.D.," "The Chase," "Countdown," "The Detective," "Bullitt," "The Rain People," and "True Grit." With his movie career in full swing, Duvall began the 1970’s as the pious Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H," followed by "THX 1138"and "Lawman." In 1972 he was honored with an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Corleone Family consigliere Tom Hagen in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic "The Godfather." Duvall’s other credits during the early ‘70’s include Horton Foote’s "Tomorrow," Coppola’s "The Conversation," "Joe Kidd," "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid," "Badge 373," and "The Outfit."
In 1974, Duvall appeared in "The Godfather, Part II" followed by "Breakout" and "The Killer Elite." In the 1976 Duvall played the ruthless television network executive in the box office hit "Network" and Dr. Watson in "The Seven Per Cent Solution."
In 1977, he directed and co-produced "We’re Not the Jet Set," a documentary about a Nebraska rodeo family. The film was honored at the London Film Festival.
Subsequent acting credits as the Seventies drew to a close were "The Eagle Has Landed" in which he played a Nazi officer, "The Greatest," and "The Betsy." In 1977 he returned to the New York stage in David Mamet’s "American Buffalo." The next year he tackled the difficult role of Dwight D. Eisenhower in the highly regarded six-hour miniseries "Ike."
In 1979, Duvall earned a second Oscar® nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role of Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola’s searing drama "Apocalypse Now." It was the Custer-like Kilgore who uttered the words "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning."
The next year Duvall earned yet another Academy Award® nomination for Best Actor as the macho Marine pilot Bull Meechum in "The Great Santini." Duvall went on to play a cynical cop in "True Confessions" and the pursuer in "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper" before landing the role which would earn him a Best Actor Oscar®. In the memorable "Tender Mercies" Duvall played Mac Sledge, a born-again country music star inspired by a young widow and her little boy to put his life back together. Duvall also wrote and performed his own songs for the Horton Foote penned film.
In 1983 Duvall wrote, directed and produced "Angelo My Love," a portrait of New York’s secretive Gypsy community. Duvall appeared in several films during the 1980s including "The Stone Boy," "The Natural," "The Lightship," "Hotel Colonial," "Let’s Get Harry," "Belizaire The Cajun," and "Colors." In 1989 Duvall earned an Emmy nomination for the role of Gus in the award-winning miniseries "Lonesome Dove.’
In the ’90s, Duvall starred as veteran racecar mechanic in "Days of Thunder" and as Faye Dunaway’s husband in "A Handmaid’s Tale." Following "A Show of Force," Duvall appeared in yet another Horton Foote film, "Convicts," directed by Foote and co-starring James Earl Jones. Duvall remained busy over the next several years starring in the musical "Newsies," Joel Schumacher’s "Falling Down," "Geronimo" and "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway," one of his favorite roles. Duvall was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Actor as the ruthless Soviet dictator role in the HBO Original film "Stalin."
In 1992 Duvall formed Butchers Run Films in order to take a more active role in all facets of film development and production. The company’s first co-production, "A Family Thing" starring Duvall and James Earl Jones, earned a Humanitas Award. Continuing his commitment to quality stories, Duvall served as executive producer for Butchers Run Films’ second project, the critically acclaimed TNT Original film, "The Man Who Captured Eichmann." Duvall also played the title role.
Recently Duvall has been seen in "The Paper," "The Stars Fell On Henrietta," Roland Joffe’s adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorn’s classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" and the John Travolta starrer, "Phenomenon."
In 1997 Duvall stepped behind the camera again, directing his original screenplay "The Apostle," a labor of love 15 years in the making. Duvall personally financed the Butchers Run Films production and played the lead role of the southern Pentecostal preacher on the lam. With the help of a dedicated cast that included Miranda Richardson, Farrah Fawcett and Billy Bob Thornton, "The Apostle" fetched the highest price ever for a film sold at the Toronto Film Festival. October Films won the bidding war, paying $5 million for all rights to the film. The film, which earned Duvall yet another Academy Award® nomination also earned six Independent Spirit Awards and was named by over 75 film critics to their list for "Top Ten Films of 1997."
Duvall next co-starred in "Deep Impact." He then teamed up with John Travolta a second time in "A Civil Action," for which he was honored with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama and his sixth Academy Award® nomination. He also co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the action thriller "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Duvall’s most recent project as actor and producer is a Butchers Run Films production directed by Michael Corrente titled "The Cup." Duvall plays the lead role of a veteran manager for a lower division Scottish football team during their Cinderella bid for the Scottish Cup.
Duvall lives on his Revolutionary War-era farmhouse estate in rural Virginia with his longtime girlfriend Luciana Pedraza and their four dogs.
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