Robert Duvall dies at 95, Anupam Kher hails 'master of understatement'

Veteran Indian actor Anupam Kher paid an emotional tribute to Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Robert Duvall, who died at the age of 95, remembering him as a performer who commanded the screen without ever raising his voice.

Duvall died peacefully at his home in Middleburg, Virginia, on Sunday, 15 February according to a statement from his publicist and his wife, Luciana Duvall. Confirming the news, she wrote: “Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort.”

Kher, in a heartfelt Instagram post, reflected on what made Duvall exceptional among generations of actors.

“IN LOVING MEMORY OF ROBERT DUVALL Robert Duvall was the kind of actor who never needed noise to command attention. Quiet, precise, and profoundly truthful, he brought an extraordinary depth to every role he inhabited. For me, he was always one of the favourites — not because he sought the spotlight, but because he never needed to (sic),” Kher wrote.

He went on to celebrate Duvall’s range and restraint. "From the restrained power of Tom Hagen in The Godfather to the haunting intensity of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, Duvall created characters that linger long after the screen fades to black. His Oscar-winning performance in Tender Mercies revealed a rare vulnerability, while films like The Apostle and Lonesome Dove showed his fearless commitment to complex, deeply human stories.

"He was brilliant without flamboyance. Powerful without theatrics. A masterclass in understatement. Actors like Robert Duvall don’t just perform — they become. And in doing so, they quietly raise the standard for all of us who love this craft (sic)."

Duvall’s career spanned more than six decades and earned him seven Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actor win for Tender Mercies (1983). He also won four Golden Globes and in 2005, was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Though often described as a “character actor”, few performers navigated both leading and supporting roles with such authority and unpredictability.

Born in San Diego in 1931 to a US Navy rear admiral, Duvall grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, near the Naval Academy. Though his father expected him to pursue a military career, he gravitated toward acting instead — a choice that would define American cinema.

His breakthrough came in 1962 when playwright Horton Foote cast him as the reclusive Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. Though the role was largely silent, it demonstrated Duvall’s rare ability to convey emotional depth through minimal expression — a quality that became his signature.

He became a household name with his portrayal of Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and its sequel, playing the calm, efficient consigliere to the Corleone family. Critics noted how he anchored scenes not with grand gestures but with stillness and precision. Yet he could be explosively charismatic when required — most memorably as the swaggering Lt-Col Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, delivering one of cinema’s most quoted lines: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

Director Francis Ford Coppola once remarked on Duvall’s instinctive craft: “Actors click into character at different times — the first week, third week. Bobby's hot after one or two takes.”

For many actors across the world, including Kher, Duvall represented something rarer than stardom — discipline, authenticity and total immersion in character. In an industry often driven by spectacle, he proved that stillness could be just as powerful as spectacle.

With his passing, cinema loses not just a legend, but a benchmark.

With AP/PTI inputs