Robert Duvall Living Out Of The Spotlight: Fears For His Health


Robert Duvall, the Academy Award-winning actor best known for his role as Tom Hagen in The Godfather films, is reportedly staying out of the spotlight. According to Radar Online, Robert Duvall has been living away from the public eye for the past seven months.

Many people are now concerned that Robert Duvall has chosen to stay out of sight due to health reasons, with rumors abounding that he suffered a stroke. With the actor known to be fond of red meat, it is reported that close friends have been warning him to slow down and live a healthier lifestyle, but apparently Robert Duvall still likes to act as if he is half his actual age.

Robert Duvall is currently married to Luciana Pedraza, an Argentinian actress.

Despite his suspected illness, the Apocalypse Now actor still makes movies regularly, with Wild Horses and Dubious Battle being two films that he appears in that were released in recent years.

The Jack Reacher actor and his wife founded the Robert Duvall Children’s Fund back in 2001, a charity which helps many impoverished families all over the world. Given Robert Duvall’s charity work, the actor is known for making regular appearances at benefits and other charity events, and given that he has been abstaining from appearing in public recently, fans are understandably concerned about the actor’s well-being. In short, Robert Duvall’s friends say that it is simply not like him to stay out of the public eye.

Robert Duvall has a very strong opinion about modern day actors. According to Huffington Post, Robert Duvall believes that young actors are taking the industry by storm.

Contrary to the opinions of some other older, veteran actors, Robert Duvall thinks that today’s younger generation of actors show an astounding amount of promise. Citing Matthew McConaughey’s performance in Dallas Buyers Club as an example, the Godfather actor also went on to say that he believes that modern directors now have an even greater influence on the actors’ performances themselves than in previous times.

Robert Duvall spoke on the different approach of the modern day director.

“I saw one of the old time directors say to an actor, ‘When I say action, tense up, god*mn it.’ I mean, you don’t say that to Joe Montana in the Super Bowl, do you?… There’s a difference between intensity and tenseness, you know. But a lot of directors would say, ‘Action!’ and then have their fingers crossed, hoping they’re going to come up with something instead of saying, ‘Don’t worry about coming up with something; let’s just see what happens.’ “

A director that Duvall will always speak highly about is The Godfather director himself, Francis Ford Coppola — the director that immortalized Robert Duvall in arguably one of the best roles in one of the best films ever made in American cinema. Robert Duvall said that working with Coppola involved a mix of Coppola observing Duvall as an actor, and seeing if Duvall needed his intervention in order to be better.

One of the things that Duvall notes as an important element for actors and directors alike to consider is the fine line between acting and overacting.

“If you do that within the confines of your temperament, then you can go broad. And sometimes when people really are within the confines of their temperament in a broad way, people say they’re overacting — and they’re not. They’re not. A broad moment can be just as valid as a quiet moment.”

He also went on to speak about his own personal approach to acting.

“I had my own theory within a scene, where you trick yourself: To get a result that’s legitimate, let the process take you to the result, rather than just going to the result. Be willing to start from zero and say, ‘Well, let’s see what happens,’ rather than the old-school, ‘Give me something.’ “

[Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW]

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