Robert Selden Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall January 5, 1931 – February 15, 2026) was an American actor and filmmaker. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Duvall began his career on television with minor roles in the 1960s on The Defenders, Playhouse 90, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the play Wait Until Dark in 1966. He returned to the stage in David Mamet‘s play American Buffalo in 1977, earning a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play nomination. He made his feature film debut portraying Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). His other early roles included Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), Bullitt (1968), True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), THX 1138 (1971), Joe Kidd (1972), and Tomorrow (1972), the last of which was developed at the Actors Studio and was his personal favorite.
Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic former country music star in Tender Mercies (1983). His other Oscar-nominated roles included The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini (1979), The Apostle (1997), A Civil Action (1998), and The Judge (2014). His other notable films included The Outfit (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Network (1976), True Confessions (1981), The Natural (1984), Colors (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), Rambling Rose (1991), Falling Down (1993), The Paper (1994), Sling Blade (1996), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Open Range (2003), Crazy Heart (2009), Get Low (2010), Jack Reacher (2012), Widows (2018), and Hustle (2022).
Throughout his career, Duvall also starred in numerous television productions. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for the AMC limited series Broken Trail (2006). His other Emmy-nominated roles included the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), the HBO film Stalin (1992), and the TNT film The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996).