Robert Duvall was an absolute titan of the big screen, appearing in iconic films like “The Godfather,” “Network,” and “Apocalypse Now” and winning an Oscar for 1983’s “Tender Mercies.” His death this week at the age of 95 has spurred fond recollections of his decades of work, including TV credits like the sweeping 1989 CBS Western miniseries “Lonesome Dove.” That wasn’t the series that won Duvall an Emmy, though.
In 2006, Duvall starred with Thomas Haden Church in the AMC Western miniseries “Broken Trail.” Duvall played Prentice “Prent” Ritter, an aging cowboy who teams up with his nephew Tom (played by Church) to transport hundreds of horses from Oregon to Wyoming. Along the way, they rescue five young Chinese girls from being sold into slavery and end up pursued by a band of killers looking for the girls. It was an old-school Western in the best sense, and Duvall — who executive-produced “Broken Trail” as well — was more than happy to get back in the saddle.
“I always say that the English have Shakespeare, the French have Molière, and the Russians have Chekhov, but the Western is ours. It is America’s Shakespeare,” Duvall said at the time. “I look at this movie as the end of a kind of trilogy for me, starting with ‘Lonesome Dove’ and [the 2003 film] ‘Open Range.‘”
Broken Trail became one of Duvall’s most celebrated roles
Robert Duvall originally developed “Broken Trail” as a feature with writer Alan Geoffrion, but then took it to AMC as a miniseries. It aired across two nights in June 2006 — just a year before “Mad Men” would make AMC a new home for prestige TV — and earned strong critical acclaim along with a number of award nominations.
The following year, it took home the Emmy for best miniseries (with Duvall earning a trophy for his role as executive producer), and Duvall also won the Emmy for best lead actor, with Thomas Haden Church taking home an Emmy as well for best supporting actor. Duvall had been nominated for three other Emmys before that, including for “Lonesome Dove,” but “Broken Trail” remained his only win.
“Broken Trail” director Walter Hill remembered Duvall as “a marvelous actor and a different kind of guy” in an interview with Variety following Duvall’s death. “Sometimes it was a bumpy ride, but we’re all better off for his efforts over the years. He always had my great respect as a wonderful actor. And we ended up friends.”
Hill still marvels at the presence Duvall had on set: “He had a kind of authority and reality to what he brought to scenes. I always believed he brought out the best in everybody. He was very professional, and he demanded that of others, which was terrific. Like all great actors, what the magic is there is kind of mysterious and rather difficult to define.” And Duvall didn’t get too excited about his Emmy win, either, Hill recalls: “He would just tuck in his chin and think that justice had been done and then move on.”