Every Robert Duvall Sports Movie, Ranked

Across his illustrious seven-decade career, Robert Duvall touched nearly every genre, but which of his sports movies is best? Breaking onto the scene all the way back in 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall quickly became one of the most recognizable dramatic stars of the New Hollywood era. Roles in films like The Godfather cemented his place among movie royalty.

The seven-time Oscar nominee was known for his realistic characters because he always brought a bit of himself to roles. He appeared in nearly every classic film of the 1970s, but continued to find great success for decades to come. He was associated with crime dramas and westerns, but he appeared in a surprising number of sports movies too.

Whether he played a coach or an owner, hero or villain, Duvall was uniquely suited to the high drama of sports cinema. He elevated simple scripts into bona fide classics, and showed off his flexibility in comedies and more serious films as well. Though sports movies won't be the legend's lasting legacy, his impact on the genre is undeniable.

8 Seven Days In Utopia (2011)

Golf movies often strive to capture the simplicity and stakes of the game, but Seven Days in Utopia gets lost in all the other things it's trying to say. A professional golfer has a public meltdown and is stranded in a secluded Texas town that teaches him life lessons. The thinly-veiled faith message adds nothing to the film's overall experience.

Playing ex-golfer Johnny Crawford, Robert Duvall puts little effort into the performance. Seven Days in Utopia suffers from a stagey script and an overabundance of cliche. Sports movies are supposed to be hokey, but they should never be boring. To make matters worse, the film ends on a cliffhanger that redirects viewers to go to a website.

7 The Greatest (1977)

1977's forgotten sports biopic, The Greatest, tries and fails to capture the full scope of its subject. Muhammad Ali plays himself in a film that chronicles Ali's life between 1960 and the legendary Rumble in the Jungle fight in 1974. Though the film was a box office hit, The Greatest lacks the spark that Ali brought in real life.

Robert Duvall makes an appearance as Bill McDonald, a seedy promoter who threatens Ali before a fight. His performance is strong, but the rest is lackluster. Ali was woefully miscast, and didn't have the acting chops to sell the drama of his own life. Furthermore, the film mostly ignores the most interesting aspects of Ali's personality outside the boxing ring.

6 12 Mighty Orphans (2021)

Robert Duvall only has a small role in 12 Mighty Orphans, but it's a decent football movie, all things considered. It tells the true story of Rusty Russell, a man who coaches an orphanage football team during the Great Depression. With a strong cast and a charming true story, the movie got appropriately middling reviews.

Making a cameo, Duvall plays Mason Hawk, the man who finances the football team at the heart of the movie's story. Improvising his lines, Duvall is his usual self. As for the rest of the film, 12 Mighty Orphans is a perfectly accessible drama that puts more emphasis on its true story than the ins and outs of football.

5 A Shot At Glory (2000)

A Shot at Glory was one of many soccer films released at the turn of the new millennium, and it's quite underrated. Desperate to save his team, a coach signs a star with a bad reputation who is currently married to his daughter. Despite being a film about Scottish football, A Shot at Glory is a very American movie.

Appropriately stern, Robert Duvall puts on a strong performance as coach Gordon McLoed, and he works well with co-star Ally McCoist (a real-life soccer star). The film is filled with strong turns from the ensemble, and it clearly has passion for soccer in its DNA. It isn't perfect, but A Shot at Glory is a must-watch for fans of footie.

4 Kicking & Screaming (2005)

Though it got bad reviews, Kicking & Screaming is actually one of Will Ferrell's best movies. A hyper-competitive kid's soccer coach is determined to take down the rival team coached by his overbearing father. Kicking & Screaming features that strain of intentionally crude humor that was common in the early 2000s, but Ferrell's performance puts it over the top.

The movie spoofs a lot of the tropes of sports dramas, and it's always funny to see Ferrell make a fool of himself. Playing Buck, Robert Duvall is the perfect foil to Ferrell's antics. With two decades passing since its release, retrospective reviews of Kicking & Screaming seem to understand what the sports comedy was going for.

3 Hustle (2022)

Despite having Adam Sandler in the lead role, the Netflix original film Hustle somehow slipped through the cracks. Sandler stars as a down-and-out basketball scout who discovers an international prospect that he's desperate to draft. Sandler's real-life love of basketball carries over into the dramedy, and Hustle is equal parts humorous and raw.

Robert Duvall appears as 76ers owner, Rex Merrick, and he's mostly on hand to lend name value. Even without a serious contribution from Duvall, the film's ensemble is particularly strong. Hustle is an exciting basketball movie that is as much about the sport as the various dramas that take place off the court to bring the game to life.

2 Days Of Thunder (1990)

No film better sums up its sport and fandom than Days of Thunder, and it remains the greatest stock car racing film ever made. A hot-shot young driver enters NASCAR, but his rivalry with another driver nearly ends both of their careers. With many scenes shot on track during actual races, the 1990 gem captures the excitement of its sport.

Director Tony Scott brings his action acumen to the project, and Days of Thunder has many of the trappings of other Scott films like Top Gun. Tom Cruise plays Cole Trickle, and he gives an appropriately bombastic performance in the lead role. Robert Duvall co-stars as crew chief Harry Hogge, a part he was born to play.

Hogge is the movie's heart, and his deep knowledge of racing is imparted onto the audience through folksy wisdom. There's no denying that Days of Thunder is an over-the-top movie stuffed with '90s cheese, but that's what makes it so good. It has all the pageantry and explosiveness of racing, something few sports movies have ever captured.

1 ​​​​​​​The Natural (1984)

Generally ranked among the top in the pantheon of great baseball movies, The Natural is also Robert Duvall's best sports film. After an injury derails his career, an aging baseball player finally gets a chance to have his rookie season. Adapting the Bernard Malamud novel of the same name, The Natural is a magical movie.

Robert Redford heads the cast as Roy Hobbs, and he gives what is arguably the best performance of his career. Meanwhile, he's joined by an A-list supporting cast, including Robert Duvall. The latter actor appears as Max Mercy, a journalist who chronicles Roy's career. The part is meatier than it appears, and Mercy falls somewhere between villain and hero.

The Natural is the perfect baseball movie because it leans heavily into the mythology of the sport. Baseball is filled with urban legends and superstitions, and the film exists in a world where they're all true. Robert Duvall was only a cog in the movie's machine, but it wouldn't have been the same without him.