Cinema Experts

"Everybody likes to win. One of the biggest disappointments was when I didn't get an Emmy for Lonesome Dove. It's political. It can be a popularity contest."
Duvall was born in San Diego, California. His father, William Howard Duvall, was a Virginia-born U.S. Navy admiral, and his mother, Mildred Virginia Hart, was an amateur actress and a relative of American Civil War General Robert E. Lee. His father was a Methodist and his mother was a Christian Scientist; he was raised in the Christian Science religion. Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in Annapolis, Maryland near the United States Naval Academy. He attended Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland. He served in the United States Army from 19 August 1953 to 20 August 1954, achieving the rank of Private First Class and receiving the National Defense Service Medal.
Duvall studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York under Sanford Meisner. While struggling as an actor, he worked at a Manhattan post office as a clerk but quit after six months. Duvall is close friends with actors Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman whom he knew during their years as struggling actors. At one point, Duvall roomed with Hoffman while they were looking for work.
Duvall's screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Duvall later played the notorious malefactor Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969), and Major Frank Burns in the film version of MASH (1970), but his breakout role was that of Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in A Civil Action and for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). His line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from Apocalypse Now is now regarded as iconic in cinema history. He won Oscar's Best Actor in Tender Mercies (1983).
He directed the critically acclaimed The Apostle, about a preacher on the run from the law, and Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 2003.Duvall portrayed General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals in 2003 and is actually a relative of the Confederate general. He has stated in several forums, including CBS Sunday Morning, that his favorite role was that of Augustus "Gus" McCrae in Lonesome Dove.