Fans celebrate unmatched talent on screen, while those who met the actor in person remember his kindness
Another one of the greats has passed. What a career. I sincerely believe Duvall was the best actor in a generation of best actors: De Niro, Pacino, Hoffman, Nicholson and more. What made Robert stand above these other figures was how he disappeared into a part. There was no Duvall persona. He was invisible. There were just the characters he played. He could do loud and angry – see his sublime turns in The Great Santini or his seminal Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. Yet I loved his quieter performances more, which would slowly sneak up on you, pull you close and then blow you away with the brilliance of his choices and the risks he took.
Particularly later in his career, when his fellow luminaries were busy cashing cheques playing parodies of their most famous characters, Robert was still pushing the boat out. Check out his turn in The Judge, or the complexity of his performance in The Apostle. Over the next few days, there will be the usual encomiums, which will focus on a handful of roles, and yet there is so much more to Duvall’s legacy that I urge readers to seek these other, less famous performances out. I would also add Frank Hackett in Network, or Scott Briggs in Wild Horses (which he directed), Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies (for which he deservedly won an Oscar), or Earl in A Family Thing. Or at least revisit his most famous role: Tom Hagen in The Godfather. What a performance. Ciao and grazie, Il Consigliere. Johnny Socha, Poland
