Robert Duvall, Oscar-winning actor and star of The Godfather, dies aged 95

The legendary US actor was nominated for seven Oscars and won for his role as a washed-up country singer in Tender Mercies.Published On 16 Feb 2026Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall, best known for his work in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died aged 95, his wife has announced in a Facebook post.“For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented,” Luciana Duvall said in a statement on Monday.Duvall was best known for playing forceful roles such as his depiction of Tom Hagen, consigliere to the Corleone Mafia family in The Godfather.He also played Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum in The Great Santini and the title character in Stalin, as well as broken-down and fallen characters in Tender Mercies and The Apostle.Tributes have poured in for the Hollywood great. Former co-star Adam Sandler said Duvall was “one of the greatest actors we have ever had”, whilst Sopranos star Michael Imperioli paid tribute to “one of the best ever”, who was “an actor’s actor”.Duvall, the son of a US Navy admiral and an amateur actress, grew up in Annapolis, Maryland in the United States. After graduating from Principia College in Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York City, where he roomed with Dustin Hoffman and befriended Gene Hackman when the three were struggling acting students.After working on a variety of television shows, Duvall made a strong impression in his first forays onto the big screen, such as his first movie part as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.Duvall got the part at the suggestion of the film’s screenwriter, Horton Foote, who had liked Duvall’s work in one of his plays. Foote later wrote Tender Mercies, a 1983 film for which Duvall won the Academy Award for best actor as a washed-up country singer.