We recently lost the legendary Robert Duvall – who starred in the likes of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Judge, and many more, a major player in the revolutionary cinema of the 1970s. And towards the end of his career, in 2013, he appeared in Christopher McQuarrie’s Jack Reacher adaptation, for which he took on Empire’s legendary Pint Of Milk interview – tackling hot topics like, his favourite word, his first role in a school play, his favourite joke… and, of course, the ultimate question: how much is a pint of milk?
Take a look back at his wonderful answers to the ultimate Q&A…
On a scale of one to ten, how famous are you?
Among actors, I’d say I’d be pretty high, but among the general public, maybe five or six. It’s just enough to be flattering, but not so much to be a nuisance when you go through airports or so forth. I can still go incognito. But there’s always somebody who goes, “Eeeh, Duvall!” I had two guys come over to my house this morning to correct my DirecTV. One’s from Portugal, the other’s from Peru, but they both knew me for some reason.
Who did you play in your fIrst school play?
I didn’t really do much until I was in college. Bill Snyder created a full-length mime play where I played a harlequin clown, and we did a play within a play of Gone With The Wind. I liked to do movement to Ravel and Stravinsky music and it was really exciting. It introduced me to acting, and so I changed my major at school to that.
How much is a pint of milk?
I can’t tell you. I’m spoiled. My wife and everybody, they do all the shopping. I like regular milk and strangely enough I like buttermilk. Not as much as when I was a kid, but I do like what you have, clotted cream back from Cornwall and Devon.
If I’m in Texas, they quote Lonesome Dove. It’s like the Bible in Texas.
What’s your favourite word?
Ooh… I would hope that it might be love.
What’s your favourite joke?
It’s a joke that Michael Gambon told me about Mother Theresa in a bar. If you see Michael Gambon, he’ll tell you that story.
Do people ever quote dialogue back to you?
Very much so. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning, it smells like victory” (from Apocalypse Now) and if I’m in Texas, they quote lines from Lonesome Dove. One woman said to me, “I would not allow my daughter to marry my future son-in-law until he saw Lonesome Dove.” It’s like the Bible in Texas.
What’s the best thing about your hometown?
Privacy. And within our little town, we have three terrific restaurants. And I found a bomb-proof horse around the corner that I can now ride. His name is Noble.
Are your neighbours noisy?
I have some neighbours that shoot guns, but that’s okay. I’m not against guns, but I don’t have any. Nothing from my neighbours bothers me – we allow people to ride horseback across our property. We don’t like cars going through, but they can walk or ride horses across our property, which is a custom here in Virginia. We still have the fox hunts which we allow to go through, which you no longer have. But the Irish revere them.
Well, I’m from Northern Ireland…
Georgie Best! Great! Georgie Best! One of the best of all… Have you seen Messi play? Boy, he’s something.
Is he the best footballer ever?
That really opens a big can there. Could be. Five foot five, a little guy, it’s amazing. You know who I liked at one time? I swear to God, Michael Owen. He was 17 when he did what he did against Argentina. The beautiful game.
Have you ever knowingly broken the law?
I try not to break the law, I try not to. I was never into dope of any kind. An actor once said to me, “What did you do between jobs?” I said, “Hobbies, hobbies and more hobbies.” It keeps you off the dope.
What’s your nickname?
I have several. My father called me Bernie because I liked the romantic poem when I was four years old. My brothers couldn’t say Bobby, so they called me Bodge. People used to call me Hoss at school, but now it’s become Bob or Bobby from Robert.
Which do you prefer?
Any of the above.
Originally published in Empire Magazine in January 2013
