Robert Duvall

Widely hailed as one of the greatest actors of his generation, Robert Duvall was something of a late bloomer in Hollywood. Making his acclaimed debut at 31 years old as Arthur "Boo" Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), Duvall was a decade older when he played Tom Hagen, valued consigliere and adopted son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather, Part II" (1974). While not exactly matinee idol material, he unquestionably possessed a wide range that allowed him to play bullying corporate executive Frank Hackett in "Network" (1976), self-determined surfing fanatic Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now" (1979), and hard-nosed Marine officer Bull Meechum in "The Great Santini" (1979). In the following decade, he won an Oscar for his performance as a washed-up country singer in "Tender Mercies" (1983), before playing a sportswriter in "The Natural" (1984) and a veteran cop in "Colors" (1988). On television, Duvall earned awards for turns as Gus McRae in "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989) and Joseph Stalin in "Stalin" (HBO, 1992), though he stepped back into supporting roles on film with "Sling Blade" (1996). He earned acclaim for directing "The Apostle" (1997), while turns in the Westerns "Open Range" (2003) and "Broken Trail" (AMC, 2006) only bolstered his reputation. Still in great demand well into his seventies, Duvall showed no signs of slowing down well into the new millennium.