On February 15 of this year, at the age of 95, Robert Duvall died. To say he had a good run is a gigantic understatement. Duvall was married four times, adored the tango, used his celebrity for good causes such as helping women and children in Argentina, and by all accounts was a solidly good guy.

As great as all that is, we’re here to focus on Duvall’s acting. He was one of the greats,* and not in a movie star, John Wayne kind of way, though Duvall worked with him. He wasn’t a method actor in the Robert De Niro kind of way, though Duvall worked with him, too. In fact, to give you an idea of Duvall’s freakishly long acting career, he made movies with John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell, Denzel Washington, Christian Bale, Glenn Close, and Michael Keaton. 

Al Pacino called Duvall “a born actor.” He was the kind of chameleonic performer that could inhabit the skin of his characters without making a big thing about it.** I promise that you’ve seen Duvall’s work. Let’s take a moment to talk about his roles, the ones that we all know are iconic, and the ones waiting to be rediscovered.

• Lonesome Dove – Duvall did a good amount of TV, and this 1989 miniseries gave him his favorite role. He played the motormouthed ex-Texas Ranger Gus McCrae, and partnered with the eternally crusty Tommy Lee Jones, headlined one of the greatest Westerns ever made.
• The Godfather – It’s a classic, and one of the many reasons for that is the display of unique acting styles. You’ve got Brando’s weary elegance, Pacino’s icy transformation, Keaton’s mounting horror, and Caan’s fiery bombast. You’ve also got Duvall as the quiet professional Tom Hagen, the consigliere who allows the Corleone family to run smoothly. For a while, anyway.
• Apocalypse Now – Duvall doesn’t show up much in Francis Ford Coppola’s wild as hell Vietnam odyssey. When he does, as the confidently insane Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, he makes an impression as strong as napalm. 
• Falling Down – To understand MAGA, you need to understand this film. It’s about a vast sorrow that curdles into rage, personified by Michael Douglas’ William Foster. But his anger is counterbalanced by Duvall’s Prendergast. He plays a weary cop who understands what Foster cannot – sooner or later, you must evolve or die. 
• The Apostle – A passion project of Duvall’s; he wrote the screenplay, produced, directed, starred, and probably handled craft services. He made a film about the difficulties and power of faith, and how the cost of redemption is always hard and always worthwhile.
• Open Range – It’s the best film Kevin Costner ever directed, and perhaps his best piece of acting. Costner and Duvall, as the amazingly named Bluebonnet “Boss” Spearman, are a pair of free range cattle drivers who come into conflict with an evil rancher. It’s a realistic and powerful Western that demands fresh eyes on it.
• The Outfit – One of the rare films where Duvall is the lead. Here, he plays career criminal Macklin. After his release from prison, he discovers his brother has been murdered by the mob, and embarks on a campaign of revenge. It’s based on the Richard Stark novel of the same name, and Duvall brings to life Stark’s iconic antihero Parker, renamed Macklin due to contract issues.
• Jack Reacher – Yes, Duvall made a couple of movies with Tom Cruise! Here, Cruise kills his way through a mystery involving a framed Army sniper. The good news is Duvall has a small but chewy role as a gun store owner. The better news is that the villain is played by Werner Herzog, which still feels insane to me.
• Kicking and Screaming – Yes, Duvall made a movie with Will Ferrell! Look…this is not an especially good movie. But Duvall didn’t appear in too many comedies, and if nothing else, it’s weirdly entertaining watching him feud with Ferrell through little league soccer competitions.
• The Paper – This Ron Howard journalism dramedy seems to have been largely forgotten, which sucks! It features a ludicrously stacked cast including Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, Glenn Close, and Catherine O’Hara. It also has Duvall as Keaton’s editor, who’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer and wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter before the end.

*Duvall was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won Best Actor in 1983 for Tender Mercies.

**I’m looking at you, Jared Leto.

Tim Brennan Movie Critic

Tim has been alarmingly enthusiastic about movies ever since childhood. He grew up in Boulder and, foolishly, left Colorado to study Communications in Washington State. Making matters worse, he moved to Connecticut after meeting his too-good-for-him wife. Drawn by the Rockies and a mild climate, he triumphantly returned and settled down back in Boulder County. He's written numerous screenplays, loves hiking, and embarrassed himself in front of Samuel L. Jackson. True story.