Robert Selden Duvall (January 5, 1931 – February 15, 2026) was an American actor, filmmaker, and producer. Duvall started acting professionally on the stage in 1952, performing in summer plays at the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport on Long Island. He continued there until 1959, with a one-year break serving in the U. S. Army. He made contacts there that then led to a career on television in the 1960s on shows such as The Defenders, Playhouse 90, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the play Wait Until Dark in 1966, and, in 1977, he returned from screen acting to the stage in David Mamet's play American Buffalo, earning a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play nomination.
He made his feature film debut portraying Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). His other early roles included Bullitt (1968), True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), THX 1138 (1971) and Tomorrow (1972), the last of which was developed at the Actors Studio and was his personal favorite. Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic former country music star in Tender Mercies (1983).