Robert Duvall, legendary actor known for

Robert Duvall, an acclaimed and prolific actor celebrated for his complex and difficult roles in films such as “The Godfather,” died Sunday at age 95.

The Hollywood giant died peacefully at his Virginia home “surrounded by love and comfort,” his wife Luciana said in a statement released Monday.

“His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for the characters, great food, and attention,” he wrote. “For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable for us all.”

Duvall’s career spanned six decades, during which he racked up many directing, producing and acting credits. He continued to work until the end of his life, starring alongside Martin Sheen in 2021’s “12 Mighty Orphans,” a film about a football team in an orphanage in 1930s Texas, and appearing in 2002’s “Hustle.”

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The Oscar-winning actor was active in the Republican Party, standing out in an industry famous for its liberalism.

But in the years since she publicly endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, Duvall has expressed frustration with the socially conservative direction of the current Republican Party. In 2014, he said he would “probably vote for independence next time.” He remained silent on politics during Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency.

Born in San Diego, California, Duvall began his career in theater and appeared in productions throughout the 1950s. His first major role on the big screen was a critically acclaimed performance as the reclusive Boo Radley in the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

He became one of the most prized and distinctive actors of the 1970s, earning praise for many performances, including those in “M*A*S*H” (1970), “THX 1138” (1971), “Network” (1976) and “The Great Santini” (1979). Over time, he cultivated a tough personality while playing a long list of complex characters.

Duvall is perhaps best known for playing Tom Hagen, Al Pacino’s steady consigliere in director Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” (1972) and “The Godfather: Part II” (1974).

In colorful recent interviews, Duvall described the fun he and fellow actors James Caan and Marlon Brando had while talking to people during the filming of the first iconic movie.

Duvall was also known for playing Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Coppola’s dark Vietnam War epic, “Apocalypse Now” (1979). The character’s disturbingly arrogant and even revelry attitude toward violence epitomized the dehumanizing effects of war. Looking out on a Vietnamese beach as American helicopters strafed the jungle and village around him, a bare-chested Kilgore famously said, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

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Some of Duvall’s other notable works include roles in “The Natural” (1984), “Colors” (1988) and “The Apostle” (1997), the latter of which he also directed.

Duvall was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but won only once, for his role in the 1983 film “Tender Mercies,” in which he played a country singer plagued by personal demons as he tried to start his life over. The actor sang several of the film’s original songs, including some he wrote himself.

Duvall later received praise for a supporting role in “Crazy Heart” (2009), the heartbreaking story of a failed country singer who makes a comeback. The appearance was an implicit homage to Duvall’s previous work, as the film’s protagonist’s life resembled that of his character in “Tender Mercies.”

The legendary actor said his favorite role was as Gus McRae, an elderly Old West cowboy in the popular 1989 television miniseries, “lonely dove.” He he told the New York Times in 2014 who considers the series his “Hamlet,” largely due to his love of the classic Western film genre.

“The English have Shakespeare; the French have Molière. In Argentina they have Borges, but the Western is ours,” he told the Times. “I like that.”

When “Lonesome Dove” premiered, a Times critic gave the series a mixed reviewbut wholeheartedly endorsed Duvall’s performance.

“Primarily, there is Robert Duvall, who makes a simple, sentimental creation seem complex, heroic, always human and totally enjoyable,” the Times critic wrote.

Duvall is survived by his wife Luciana, an Argentine actress and director. They lived together for many years on a 360-acre farm in Fauquier County, Virginia.