LOS ANGELES: With a career spanning over seven decades, actor Robert Duvall has played roles ranging from Joseph Stalin to Dwight D Eisenhower, and he still looks for ways to diversify his choices. With popular movies to his name such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Apostle and many more, he still isn’t done.
Duvall, 82, will next be seen as a stoic war veteran patriarch in Jayne Mansfield’s Car, written and directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton, which will be released in US theatres on Friday. The film, which is a drama set in ‘60s Alabama, explores the cultural impact of a British family in a small Southern town.
What drew you to work with Billy Bob Thornton on Jayne Mansfield’s Car?
The guy understands the Southern idiom. He understands where he comes from. He’s a brilliant guy, not just as an actor, but he’s a triple threat guy — a writer, director and actor.
How have you avoided being stereotyped into a certain genre or character?
I’ve always considered myself a character actor. And if there were no movies, I’d still be doing theatre. I’ve always tried to be a character actor and I think in my career so far, I’ve done that. I’ve always liked Westerns. I like working in Texas and I’m going to work on a project coming up in Texas, but I’ve always tried to be as diverse as possible without being stereotyped, and many times, it has come my way.
The earlier Western movies were Hollywood’s bread and butter, and captured the attention of a very international audience. Why do you think such an American genre of film has such wide global appeal?
I think it’s a sense of pushing west, of the expansion and so forth … I think people are fascinated with the West.
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in Hollywood over your career?
I don’t know if it’s really changed. It’s easier to raise $100 million than $5 million. Doing an independent film is very difficult and they still do good work.
Is there still a dream role that you want to play or wish you had played?
Terry Gilliam had approached me to play Don Quixote, and it’s still way on the back burner because he can’t get funding. But he saw me play the Cuban barber and ever since then, he thought I could play Don Quixote in a certain way … It would be nice to play that part.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2013.
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