A Master at the art of Acting
Bull Meechum and Mac Sledge could not be more different in their personalities.
The quintessential alpha male, Meechum nearly always feels the need to dominate an interaction with another individual. The lieutenant colonel browbeats members of his family, U.S. Marine Corps subordinates and anyone else he encounters (except for his military superiors). No one is going to tell him that he’s not the best at anything he does, particularly when he flies a jet.
On the other hand, Sledge displays his humility at first glance. Quiet and reserved, his emotional scars are obvious. Life has been rough on Sledge, and he hasn’t helped himself with his self-destructive behavior.
Meechum frequently exhibits arrogance. He is outgoing, gregarious and loves being the center of attention. At the core of his psyche is his extreme confidence he has in every decision he makes — even when he’s clearly wrong. Meechum’s combative nature causes friction with loved ones.
Sledge telegraphs the low esteem he sometimes has for himself and tries to remain in the background. But he also looks for opportunities for redemption and takes them when they come his way. His true passion is his musical talent, to which he clings like a life preserver. Recognizing how he ruptured previous relationships due to his alcoholism, Sledge commits himself to remaining sober and cherishing all those close to him.
Film portrayals of these two men show how distinct they are from each other. It’s difficult imagining one actor convincingly playing them both.
But such was the talent of Robert Duvall, one of the most renowned actors of our time. He appeared in more than 90 movies and at least 50 television programs.
Duvall died February 15 at the age of 95. He leaves a body of work that has lured fans for decades.
The ability of Duvall to excel at portraying both the ego-maniacal Meechum (The Great Santini, 1979) and the down-on-his-luck Sledge (Tender Mercies, 1983) testifies to the extraordinary talent he possessed. And throughout his career, he offered viewers a range of characters between Meechum and Sledge.
“It was an honor to have worked with Robert Duvall,” Al Pacino said in a statement about his co-star in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. “He was a born actor, as they say. His connection with it, his understanding and his phenomenal gift will always be remembered. I will miss him.”
“I had the honor of working alongside you in Widows,” Viola Davis wrote in a post on Instagram. “I’ve always been in awe of your towering portrayals of men who were both quiet and dominating in their humanness.”
“When I got to work with him on Days of Thunder in 1990, he turned out to be as fabulous a human being as I could have hoped,” Cary Elwes wrote on Instagram. “I have wonderful memories of numerous barbecues he threw for the cast and crew at the ranch he was staying at. … And the wonderful, touching moment when he asked me to film him and his wife, Luciana, dancing the tango. My heart goes out to Luciana and his extended family, friends and fans, of which I will always be one. Farewell, Bob. Rest in absolute power.”
Duvall’s acting career included films that became classics — and this started right from the beginning. His first movie credit was as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, the 1962 movie based on Lee Harper’s 1960 novel of the same title. Co-stars included Gregory Peck, Mary Badham and Brock Peters.
Duvall went on to portray Ned Pepper in 1969’s True Grit with John Wayne; Maj. Frank Burns in 1970’s M*A*S*H with Donald Sutherland, Sally Kellerman, Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt; Tom Hagen in 1972’s The Godfather and 1974’s The Godfather Part II; Frank Hackett in 1976’s Network with William Holden, Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch; Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando; and Frank Childers in 1996’s Sling Blade with Billy Bob Thorton and John Ritter.
These eight films earned a combined total of 21 Academy Awards. Surprisingly, Duvall wasn’t among the winners for any of these movies. He was nominated for seven Oscars throughout his movie career.
The sole Academy Award that Duvall received was for his standout role as Sledge in Tender Mercies, a film with a modest budget of $4.5 million. While it did poorly at the box office, it was widely praised for its emphasis on maintaining hope and finding redemption with loved ones.
Sledge is a washed-up country music singer who destroyed his family life and career with alcohol. He looks for odd jobs just to make ends meet. He begins doing work around the house for Rosa Lee (Tess Harper), a single mother who lost her husband in the Vietnam War.
They embark upon a relationship and get married. Sledge and Lee attend church together, and Sledge is baptized a Christian. Sledge also begins rediscovering the joy of performing his music.
While making the movie, Duvall racked up hundreds of miles on his vehicle driving around the East Texas community where filming took place. He spoke with many residents about their lives in a small town, often recording their voices so he could work on his rural dialect. Duvall also played and sang all the music he performed.
In a March 28, 1983, review of Tender Mercies in Time magazine, Richard Corliss wrote: “Duvall’s aging face, a road map of dead ends and dry gulches, can accommodate rage or innocence or any ironic shade in between. As Mac, he avoids both melodrama and condescension, finding climaxes in each small step toward rehabilitation, each new responsibility shouldered.”
A March 28, 1983, review of the movie in People magazine noted: “Duvall gives it everything he has, which is saying a great deal. His beery singing voice is a revelation, and his unfussy, brightly burnished acting is the kind for which awards were invented.”
Duvall had the commanding presence to portray several historic figures. On film, he played Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in 2003’s Gods and Generals. And on television, he took on the roles of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1979’s Ike: The War Years, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1992’s Stalin and Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1996’s The Man Who Captured Eichmann.
However, projects about the American West became one of Duvall’s most cherished genres. He said his favorite character of his career was playing retired Texas Ranger Capt. Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove, an acclaimed television miniseries broadcast in 1989. He won a Golden Globe for his performance.
Duvall loved dancing the tango with his wife, Luciana, an Argentine actor and director. She and Duvall married in 2005.
On February 16, Luciana Duvall expressed her love for her husband in a statement on his death, summing up the sentiments of Duvall’s many friends and admirers:
“Yesterday, we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort. To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind.”