Robert Duvall: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
1. Gus McCrae - Lonesome Dove
What is probably Robert Duvall's greatest ever performance doesn't actually stem from a motion picture, but from a deftly underrated and criminally underseen TV mini-series: the epic western Lonesome Dove, based on the novel of the same name, which also starred Tommy Lee Jones and Danny Glover. Starring as an old Texas Ranger named Gus McCrae, Duvall pulls in everything that makes him the great actor that he is. Even Duvall believes Dove features his best work: "The English can have their Hamlet and King Lears," he said. "Ill play Gus McCrae anytime. In other words, McCrae gifted him with the opportunity to play a character he could really relate to - and it's easy to see how McCrae, a good-hearted man with morals, sums up the best of Duvall the actor and Duvall the man. Really, who wouldn't want to be remembered for this?
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
