“There’s no such thing as the bad guy or the good guy,” muses Robert Duvall. “It’s all percentages. It’s a combination. Nobody’s one thing or the other. I’ve played a lot of bad guys, like Stalin. You find the contradictions, the vulnerability... anything good you can uncover. It’s about strengths and weaknesses, good and bad. It’s mixed. Like life, like people.”

It’s easy to see why the legendary actor is attracted to contradictory characters – he is one himself. The Oscar-winning star of Tender Mercies, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Apostle is known for playing taciturn cowboys, obsessive leaders and driven fighters.
Up close the actor is outspoken and confident, waving questions away as easily as he makes jokes. At 83, there’s also a frailty that’s impossible to ignore. Shuffling into a luxurious hotel suite, he is small and unassuming in jeans. The hair is thin, his hearing poor.
Nonetheless, he is at the height of his powers in Judge, a dramedy from director David Dobkin. As Robert Downey Jr’s obstinate and emotionally aloof father, his character never wavers in public – but age and ill-health are nonetheless making him increasingly weak.
“Emotion has to come from you, it has to come from here,” he says, tapping his chest. “It has to start and end with yourself. I try to find that vulnerability within, from my own experiences. Sometimes you trick yourself: something unconscious and personal arises. There’s a line in the film where I say to Robert ‘we waited quietly for you at home.’ The word ‘quietly’ was not in there, I added that. It wasn’t designed, it came from myself; a subconscious fear and vulnerability. You look for those crutches that help your performance, and often they open up things.”
Duvall and Downey give electrifying turns, elevating this occasionally hackneyed drama into an acting showcase. With Oscar buzz already building, Duvall admits bagging such a juicy part caught him by surprise.
“You can’t really plan things. This was a surprise, it came out of nowhere. I’ve joked this is possibly the biggest film I’ve been in since Apocalypse Now – and that’s centuries ago!”
The blend of family drama and courtroom procedural reminds Duvall of his first film, Robert Mulligan’s adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, in which Duvall played the enigmatic Boo Radley.
“That was my first film. It was a different experience, so nice to work with Gregory Peck, and a fine movie to start my career with. Having said that, I only had one line and they cut it!”
Not that the edit held Duvall back – he’s since appeared in over 80 films, and plans to continue acting and directing.
“I slow down a little. Still you have to keep going until the day you’re forced to stop. There are some nice things coming around the corner; I’ve directed a movie and am working on another piece by Elmer Kelton, a novelist who passed away recently. He was known as the greatest Western writer of all time. I’ve the rights to The Day The Cowboys Quit, a very unique novel. I’m trying to make that happen.”
As a director, Duvall learned what not to do from many people – and he’s not shy about naming names.
“Stanley Kubrick was terrible with actors, terrible!” he exclaims. “If you don’t like actors, how can you be good with them? You see The Shining and some of the performances are pathetic. It’s about talking and listening, just like we’re doing now. You let it go from there.”
While Duvall’s love of film hasn’t wavered, there are grounds for believing his passion for politics may have – though it’s unclear whether this is due to shifting priorities or sheer disillusionment. Previously an active and outspoken Republican (a rarity in Hollywood), Duvall was invited to George W. Bush’s inauguration; supported campaigns for John McCain and Sarah Palin; and endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012. However, he has since called the Republican party “a mess” and says he doesn’t want to talk politics anymore. Now, the focus seems to be on his two great loves: film and family.
“Liberals, conservative, extremists left and right – they can be all be good family people,” he asserts. “Whether you live in Hollywood, or Virginia like me and my wife, you can be good decent people. That’s the important thing.”

The Judge is in cinemas from October 17.