Hollywood Mourns Robert Duvall: “Greatness Personified” & “Funny As Hell”

Friends, fans and colleagues of Robert Duvall are mourning the legendary Oscar winner, who died Sunday at 95. Here are some tribute and reactions:

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who both starred with Duvall in the Oscar-winning The Godfather: Part II, earning De Niro an Oscar and Pacino a nomination, both sent statements. “It was an honor to have worked with Robert Duvall,” Pacino said. “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.”

Said De Niro: ‘God bless Bobby. I hope I can live till I’m 95. May he Rest in Peace.”

Writer-director Scott Cooper, whose 2022 drama The Pale Blue Eye was Duvall final film, was close with the actor. Duvall was the one who encouraged him to switch from acting to filmmaking. “Robert Duvall was the most important artistic mentor I had,” Cooper said in a statement. “He produced and acted in my first film, Crazy Heart, and from that moment forward, read nearly every screenplay I wrote, offering his quiet wisdom and unwavering belief in me. He was my fiercest supporter — not with grand gestures, but with honesty, rigor, and love for the work itself. His legacy as one of the true giants of acting is secure, but what I will carry with me most is his generosity, his humility, and the example he set of a life devoted entirely to truth. I would not be the filmmaker—or the man—I am without him.” 

Adam Sandler wrote on Instagram: “Funny as hell. Strong as hell. One of the greatest actors we ever had. Such a great man to talk to and laugh with. Loved him so much. We all did. So many movies to choose from that were legendary. Watch them when you can. Sending his wife Luciana and all his family and friends our condolences.”

Also writing on Instagram, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis wrote: “The greatest consigliere the screen has ever seen. Bravo, Robert Duvall.”

Multiple Emmy winner Alec Baldwin posted an emotional video tribute:

Oscar winner Michael Keaton, who appeared with Duvall in Ron Howard’s 1994 film The Paper, posted on Instagram: “another friend goes down. acted with and became friends. shared a great afternoon on my front porch talking about horses. he was greatness personified as an actor. RIP RD.”

Oscar winner Viola Davis, who appeared with Duvall in the 2018 crime thriller Widows, posted on IG: “I had the honor of working alongside you in Widows. I was in awe. I’ve always been in awe of your towering portrayals of men who were both quiet and dominating in their humanness. You were a giant… an icon… Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, The Apostle, Lonesome Dove… etc… Greatness never dies. It stays… as a gift. Rest well, sir. Your name will be spoken… May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”

Said Deadline’s Peter Bart, who was an executive at Paramount Pictures when The Godfather was released: “On The Godfather, Duvall was by the far the closest to Marlon Brando, often calming him down where he was agitated by a script change or re-shoot. It was almost as if Duvall was Brando’s consiglieri and his link to Coppola. In a television interview years later between Duvall and me, Duvall remarked that playing scenes with Brando was perhaps the high point of his acting career.”

Walton Goggins, who appeared in the 1997 Duvall-directed film The Apostle, posted photos from that set and wrote in part: “The privilege of getting to work with this man, to know this man is still the most important experience of my life. He was my North Star, my hero. He knew it. He gave me permission, afforded me the privilege of never having to leave his side while we were working… we maintained a deep friendship for years after. He didn’t have to do that. But he did. He had that effect on a lot of people… but this was my story. I love you Bobby. Thank you for changing my life.”

Celebrated actor and Duvall co-star Jane Seymour wrote in part: “There are actors who perform, and there are actors who inhabit a role completely. Robert Duvall did the latter. His presence on screen carried honesty, weight, and grace.”

Said actor John Savage, whose sister, actress Gail Youngs, was married to Duvall from 1982-86: “I literally started my career opposite Bobby Duvall in the late 1970s in the original Broadway production of David Mamet’s play American Buffalo, where I originated the role of Bobby. Without his generosity, brilliance and mentorship there is no way we would have won the critical praise, sold-out audiences or trajectory to any of our careers. Playing the role of ‘Bobby’ alongside his portrayal of “Teach” stands out as a time in my career that I will always cherish. I learned from the best and will miss him dearly.”