Preloading

Robert Duvall's Early Friendships with Hollywood Legends

Season 5
Aired on 11/08/2015 | CC tv-14
After quitting a steady job at the U.S. Postal Service to pursue acting full time, young Robert Duvall was cast in an Arthur Miller play alongside an up-and-coming actor named Gene Hackman. "We became friends—he's a wonderful guy," Robert says. "Then he said, 'There's this guy with a big nose and black hair [who's] going to be coming back. He's going to be sleeping on my kitchen floor—Dustin Hoffman.'"

For years, Robert, Gene and Dustin palled around New York City together, meeting multiple times a week at Cromwell's Drugstore to discuss women and acting. "Eventually, Dustin, myself, my brother and some others actors and singers, we got a railroad apartment at 107th and Broadway," he says. "Gene lived downtown with his wife. He had some kids."

Many decades later, these three men are all Academy Award® winners with hundreds of credits to their names. Watch as Robert shares why he still values their friendship today. Plus, Robert reveals what role helped him land a pivotal part in To Kill a Mockingbird.

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