The Godfather's Man: A Look At Robert Duvall's Rise In Hollywood

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Born Robert Selden Duvall in San Diego, California in 1931, this actor has been leaving his mark in movie history since 1951. He's the second of three boys, fathered by U.S. Navy rear admiral William Howard Duvall and birthed by Mildred Virginia. Needless to say, he leaned more toward his mother's profession and pursued acting full time. Duvall admitted that his father encouraged him to follow in his footsteps and join the United States Naval Academy, but he was inept at everything except acting. He took his acting decision so seriously that in 1953, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama from Principia College in Illinois. Among his most memorable roles was his recurring appearance in The Godfather film series, starring A-list actors like Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Robert De Niro.

However, this was just one of the many movies in which this legendary actor starred which brought his net worth to $70 million. Let's find out how he did it!

An Actor, Not A Fighter

Although he ultimately took the acting route, Duvall served in the United States Army for one year before leaving as a private first class. And while he didn't excel as a sniper with the Army, he did act in an amateur role in the comedy Room Service while still stationed at the U.S. Army-owned Camp Gordon. By 1955, he decided to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater in New York City where he share classes and had as a roommate other upcoming acting stars such as Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and James Caan.

Enraptured with a love for theater acting, Duvall would go on to perform in a number of theatrical plays as he was working for the Gateway Playhouse. His stage debut came in 1952 when he played the Pilot in Laughter in The Star. He appeared in multiple other theatre performances over the years, making his off-Broadway debut in George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession.

Around the same time, Duvall made his film debut in the 1962 drama film, To Kill A Mockingbird, which grossed $13 million against a $2 million budget. Not bad for a first film! In the following years up to the end of that decade, he appeared in a few other films such as Captain Newman, M.D (1963), the science fiction film Countdown (1967), Bullitt (1968) starring Steve McQueen and Jacqueline Bisset which grossed $42 million worldwide, and one of his most notorious roles as "Lucky" Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969) starring John Wayne and Dennis Hopper. From here on out, Duvall's acting career would begin to skyrocket him to stardom.

Success Favors The Brave

His patience and perseverance in minor roles would finally begin to pay off in the 1970s beginning in 1970 with the black comedy war film, MASH, where he starred alongside Tom Skerritt, Elliott Gould, and the Canadian actor Donald Sutherland and saw a grossing of $81.6 million. However, two years later his real breakout role would be etched into film history when he portrayed Tom Hagen in The Godfather, for which he received a salary of $360,000. Starring beside some of Hollywood's all-time greatest actors such as Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and Diane Keaton, not only did the film gross $290 million at the box office but Duvall also earned an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The epic crime mafioso film was followed up with a sequel in 1974, The Godfather II, which he reprised his role, this time beside Robert De Niro and Talia Shire. The sequel grossed considerably less, raking in just $93 million, but was nonetheless a classic. To end the decade, Duvall starred in the psychological war film, Apocalypse (1979), directed again by Francis Coppola and starring a slew of actors such as Marlon Brando, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper. Duvall also received an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe for his role in the movie.

Further Success In Film

Moving forward into the 1980s, his next film was again opposite Robert De Niro in the 1981 film, Confessions, which grossed close to $13 million at the box office. Then, in 1983 came the drama film Tender Mercies, starring Tess Harper, Wilford Brimley, and Ellen Barkin, grossing $8.4 million. Following that, in 1988 he starred in a police procedural action crime film called Colors, in which he again starred with the Hollywood giant Sean Penn and also featured Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans. In 1989, he was awarded a Golden Globe Award and Emmy nomination for his role in the Western mini-series, Lonesome Dove, which also featured Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Danny Glover, Chris Cooper, and the comedy king Steve Buscemi.

Into the 1990s, the Kicking and Screaming actor amassed even greater success with Days of Thunder (1990) starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. He would then appear in the comedy-drama The Paper, starring Michael Keaton and Glen Close. At the close of the decade, Duvall played the role of veteran astronaut Captain Spurgeon Tanner in the 1998 science fiction disaster film, Deep Impact, starring Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, and the legendary Morgan Freeman. The film grossed close to $350 million in global sales, making it one of the highest-grossing movies of his career.

The new millennium bought even greater success for Duvall, starting with the intensely touching 2000 thriller drama, John Q, starring Denzel Washington, the late Ray Liotta, and Kimberly Elise. His other outstanding films include Secondhand Lion (2003) starring Michael Caine; Get Low (2003) starring Bill Murray; Open Range (2003) directed by Kevin Costner; Jack Reacher (2012), and The Judge (2014) starring Robert Downey Jr.

Duvall's Simple Lifestyle

When it comes to his real estate portfolio, Robert Duvall is a simple man, relatively speaking. Compared to other A-list celebrities who have numerous different mansions to their name, Duvall has held on to a 250-year-old, 360-acre residence in Northern Virginia's Fauquier County he purchased in 1994. According to Architectural Digest, he sold a two-bedroom, three-bathroom home in West Hollywood for $16 million in 2017. For Duvall, simplicity can still be maintained with a $70 million net worth.

Sources: Architectural Digest, Republic World, Celebrity Net Worth