‘Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton Tells Great Robert Duvall Stories & Divulges The Deep Dark Secret He Never Told His Mentor

EXCLUSIVE: To most of us movie watchers, Robert Duvall was that consummate actor whose range was displayed in his work as the steely lawyer Tom Hagen in The Godfather, the abusive fighter pilot father Bull Meecham in The Great Santini, the napalm-loving commander in Apocalypse Now, the cowboy with a heart Gus McCrae from Lonesome […] Actors Robert Duvall (L) and Billy Bob Thornton Getty Images EXCLUSIVE: To most of us movie watchers, Robert Duvall was that consummate actor whose range was displayed in his work as the steely lawyer Tom Hagen in The Godfather, the abusive fighter pilot father Bull Meecham in The Great Santini, the napalm-loving commander in Apocalypse Now, the cowboy with a heart Gus McCrae from Lonesome Dove, and the businessman who turned down Godfather III because Al Pacino was getting paid five times what he’d been offered. To Landman star Billy Bob Thornton, Duvall was a surrogate father who gave the actor and filmmaker a grudging kind of love and approval that he never got from his real dad. The one whose own dreams failed and who took it out on his sensitive son. There are others who filled that father/mentor role for Thornton – Bruce Dern and Sam Elliott are others – but there was no one quite like Duvall to him. The passing of Duvall at 95 leaves perhaps the biggest hole since his best pal John Ritter died suddenly in 2003 after they became close working together in Thornton’s Oscar winner Sling Blade and Bad Santa. Related Stories News Hollywood Mourns Robert Duvall: "Greatness Personified" & "Funny As Hell"