On This Day

Birthday of Robert Duvall

January 5th 1931

12:03 5 January 2024

American actor and filmmaker Robert Duvall was born on this day in 1931. Duvall's first big screen appearance was a small uncredited part in 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' (1956). His first "major" role came when he played Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1962). Throughout the 1960s he played supporting roles in movies including 'Captain Newman, M.D.' (1963), 'The Chase' (1966). 'Countdown' (1967), 'Bullitt' (1968), 'True Grit' (1969) and 'The Rain People' (1969).

The 1970s saw the start of Duvall's emergence as a major presence in American Cinema when he began to draw attention for his roles in Robert Altman's 'M*A*S*H' (1970) and George Lucas' 'THX 1138' (1971). His career breakthrough role came when Francis Ford Coppola cast him as mob lawyer Tom Hagen in 'The Godfather' (1972) for which he received the first of his six Academy Award nominations.

Other significant roles during this time were in 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974), 'The Killer Elite' (1975), 'Network' (1976), 'The Eagle Has Landed' (1976), 'The Great Santini' (1979) and the decade ended with one of his most memorable roles as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' (1979). For his role as country music singer Mac Sledge in 'Tender Mercies' (1983) he collected the Best Actor Academy Award.

Other notable film credits include 'The Natural' (1984), 'Colors' (1988), 'Days of Thunder' (1990), 'Falling Down' (1993), 'The Apostle' (1997), 'Open Range' (2003), 'We Own the Night' (2007), 'The Judge' (2014), 'Widows' (2018), 'Hustle' (2022) and 'The Pale Blue Eye (2022).

In a career that spans more than seven decades, Robert Duvall is without doubt one of Hollywood's greatest ever actors. Happy Birthday Robert.