The Oscar-winning actor, who has died at 95, was a master at portraying men whose stern authority masked layers of doubt and vulnerability. Kevin E G Perry looks back at a storied Hollywood career that included unforgettable performances in ‘The Godfather’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Tender Mercies’
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The Oscar-winning actor, who has died at 95, was a master at portraying men whose stern authority masked layers of doubt and vulnerability. Kevin E G Perry looks back at a storied Hollywood career that included unforgettable performances in ‘The Godfather’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Tender Mercies’ This article provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of current events.
The Oscar-winning actor, who has died at 95, was a master at portraying men whose stern authority masked layers of doubt and vulnerability. Kevin E G Perry looks back at a storied Hollywood career that included unforgettable performances in ‘The Godfather’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Tender Mercies’
The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. CultureFilmFeaturesRobert Duvall: The Hollywood great whose machismo held hidden depthsThe Oscar-winning actor, who has died at 95, was a master at portraying men whose stern authority masked layers of doubt and vulnerability. Kevin E G Perry looks back at a storied Hollywood career that included unforgettable performances in ‘The Godfather’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Tender Mercies’Monday 16 February 2026 15:59 ESTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverRobert Duvall’s childhood memories shared for milestone birthday just weeks before deathYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreRobert Duvall is only onscreen for a little over ten minutes in Apocalypse Now, but that’s more than enough time for him to steal Francis Ford Coppola’s twisted war epic. Crouching shirtless on a Vietnamese beach moments after ordering the firebombing of the shoreline, his Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore delivers the film’s most quoted line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” That line, as memorable and shocking as it is, is only the set-up. As Coppola’s camera slowly moves in on Kilgore’s face, the soldier’s eyes partly obscured by his oversized U.S. Cavalry hat, he reminisces fondly about the nightmarish death and destruction wrought by a previous napalm attack he had instigated. “The smell, you know that gasoline smell? The whole hill. Smelled like... victory,” he says, with terrible pride. Then, with something like grief: “Someday this war’s gonna end.”It is one of the great moments in cinematic history, a glimpse at a man who has given himself totally to the war machine. It is hard to imagine anyone but Robert Duvall, who has died at the age of 95, at the dark heart of it. He was one of the most gifted American actors ever to grace the screen, blessed with a rare ability to bring stoic, tightly-wound man to life. An undercurrent of raw vulnerability offset his own virile machismo. He won an Oscar for playing a country music star in 1983’s Tender Mercies, and was nominated six more times, including for his brief appearance in Apocalypse Now and for arguably his best known performance, as the trusted consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather.Duvall was born in San Diego on January 5, 1931, and may have inherited some of his natural authority from his parents. His father William was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, while his mother was a relative of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Duvall would go on to play Lee in 2003’s Gods and Generals. As a student he avoided following his father into Naval Academy by showing no aptitude for anything except acting. He did serve in the U.S. Army for a year, before being discharged in 1954 and moving to New York City. While a student of the influential acting coach Sanford Meisner, he worked various menial jobs and lived with fellow aspiring stars Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. open image in galleryRobert Duvall as the napalm-loving Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in ‘Apocalypse Now’ (CBS/Getty)After cutting his teeth on stage with leading performances in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Duvall made his film debut in 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Duvall won the part of reclusive neighbor Boo Radley after impressing the film’s screenwriter Horton Foote. Foote, who would also go on to write Tender Mercies, later called Duvall “our number one actor.” That talent is visible even from his first moments onscreen as Boo Radley. Although the character never speaks in the film, Duvall is able to convey his humanity with just his soulful eyes and a slight, heartwarming smile.As his career progressed, Duvall found his grizzled countenance lent itself especially well to Westerns. In 1969’s True Grit he was the criminal who finds himself in a climactic horseback shoot-out with John Wayne. A couple of years later, he was another outlaw hunted down by Burt Lancaster in Lawman.
