Robert Duvall: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore - Apocalypse Now

You might not be aware of the fact that Robert Duvall briefly fought in the Korean war, and it's presumably this experience that he's channelling for what is arguably his most recognisable role - that of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. From the moment that Duvall appears in the movie, he takes total control of the picture - hard to believe he's in it for less than 20 minutes. As the surf-obsessed Kilgore, a man prone to wandering around the battlefield without a shirt on, Duvall provides the centrepiece for what is perhaps the best section of the whole film. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," he laments - and we honestly believe that he does. The entire time that he's on screen, he channels the complete madness of Vietnam. As far as supporting characters go, Kilgore is a masterclass.