Robert Duvall's Real Name: Robert Selden Duvall

Quick answer: Robert Duvall's full name was Robert Selden Duvall. He was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, California, and died on February 15, 2026, in Middleburg, Virginia. He worked under Robert Duvall—the civil form of his birth name.

Real name and early life

Britannica and the Library of Congress identify Robert Selden Duvall as the full name (Britannica; LOC). Duvall is the family surname; Selden is the middle name. He was born while his father, a U.S. Navy officer, was stationed in San Diego; the family later settled in Fairfax County, Virginia. After a drama degree from Principia College in Illinois, he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War period, then studied with Sanford Meisner at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse and worked Off-Broadway and on Broadway (Wait Until Dark, 1966).

Career highlights

His screen debut was Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). A major break came as Ned Pepper opposite John Wayne in True Grit (1969). He originated Major Frank Burns in Robert Altman’s MASH* (1970) and earned an Oscar nomination as consigliere Tom Hagen in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), returning in Part II. Further nominations followed for Apocalypse Now (Colonel Kilgore), The Great Santini, and later work; he won best actor for Tender Mercies (1983). He wrote, directed, and starred in The Apostle (1997), won an Emmy for Broken Trail (2006), and received another Oscar nomination for The Judge (2014). Television landmarks include the miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989). Final film credits included Hustle and The Pale Blue Eye (both 2022). Across six decades, billing stayed Robert Duvall; the documented full name was Robert Selden Duvall.

Duvall married Luciana Pedraza in 2005 after earlier marriages.

Name notes for searchers

Occasional credit variants such as “Duval” appear in older databases; prefer LOC and Britannica. Wikipedia is useful only as a pointer after primary citations.