‘An incredible human being’: Readers share their memories of Robert Duvall | film

“There was no Duvall character.”

Another one of the greats has passed. What a career. I honestly believe that Duvall was the best actor in a generation of the best actors: De Niro, Pacino, Hoffman, Nicholson and others. What made Robert stand above these other characters was how he disappeared at one point. There was no Duvall character. He was invisible. There were only the characters he played. He can do loud and angry – witness his brilliant roles in The Great Santini or the poignant Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. However, I loved his quieter performances, which slowly creeped up on you, drawing you in close and then blowing you away with the ingenuity of his choices and the risks he took.

Especially later in his career, when his co-stars were busy cashing checks playing parodies of their more famous characters, Robert was still pushing the boat out. Check out his role in The Judge, or the complexity of his performance in The Messenger. Over the next few days, there will be the usual praise, focused on a few roles, and yet there is so much about Duvall’s legacy that I urge readers to seek out these other, lesser-known performances. I’d also add Frank Hackett in Network, or Scott Briggs in Wild Horses (which he directed), or 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. Chow and Grazi, Elle Concealer. Johnny Socha, Poland

“We shared the dance floor.”

We didn’t talk, but we shared the dance floor for a few hours in New York in the early 2000s. I was a newbie to the burgeoning tango scene. One evening on La Nacional, the famous milonga street, my partner and I noticed that Robert Duval and his Argentine partner were in attendance. Here was the legendary Robert Duvall guiding his elegant partner through the audience, confirming the rumor that he loves to tango. Later in the evening, my partner and I ended up right behind them in a counter-clockwise tango around the floor. Suddenly Duval changed course as my partner extended her leg behind her in a flourish. It took all my budding milonguero skills to narrowly guide her past Duvall’s new path. In that near collision, all I could imagine was Kilgore strut from Apocalypse Now, raining curses on me. I think he would have understood the rookie mistake, but to this day I’m grateful I didn’t bump into him! Eric, 50 years old, Berlin

“Great variety of roles”

I’ve always admired the sheer variety of roles that Robert Duvall was able to pull off so well – from Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, to his Westerns, in which I think he excelled. His acting was absolutely fantastic, and his character was completely believable, which makes the movie that much better. His kind doesn’t often come our way. Brian Thompson, Portland, Oregon, United States

“He treated us kindly as fellow artists.”

An actor is an actor without being a type. It was his innings. The roles were not his. In 1977, my friend Barry Lane and I, both college theater students, met backstage with Duvall after his performance in American Buffalo. We spent about an hour with him talking about acting. He was genuinely interested in our theater studies and treated us kindly as fellow artists. Such an incredible actor and human being. Edward Schneider, 72, Berkeley, California, United States

“A package no other actor can match.”

An aspiring actor friend of mine told me how he was in awe of Duvall’s ability to make an impact in a movie, no matter how small the part. Boo Radley was one example, he said, but there was another, less-appreciated performance he pointed out in “The Conversation.” It’s a small, uncredited role, but the way Duvall delivers a line like: “Just, put it on the table” carries an impact that no other actor can match.

When I was in college I worked as a furniture mover in New York City. One day in 1984, shortly after Robert Duvall won his Oscar for Tender Mercies, I was working a job on the Upper West Side. It was a beautiful spring day and the job was almost complete. I was standing in the back of the nearly empty truck and looking down the street, and I saw Robert Duvall walking toward me. He was wearing a cowboy hat and was walking with a woman next to him. As he approached the truck, I said quietly in his direction, “Hey, congratulations.” He looked up, smiled a little in my direction, and said, “Thanks!” And keep walking. David, United Kingdom

“He will be sorely missed in Virginia.”

Besides my lifelong love of his films, with many favorites including To Kill a Mockingbird, Open Range, Something To Talk About, Secondhand Lions, and of course Lonesome Dove, I lived in the area of ​​his beloved farm. I would see him occasionally at local restaurants and horse shows, though I never got brave enough to approach him. He was just one of the people who lived here in God’s country. He will be greatly missed in the area. Sandy Cole, Fauquier County, Virginia, United States