B.L.
Aside from being in a spectacular war epic, what was really the
draw for you to play General Robert E. Lee?
R.D. I wanted to see it done right. The bloodlines of my father
are from Northern Virginia and my grandmother’s family were
tobacco farmers. They were actually pro-union behind southern lines;
they named my grandfather Abraham Lincoln Duvall. I had that to
draw upon, it was a given. I read books and asked questions and
I just knew that I could play this guy with all of the information
I had around me.
B.L.
You have played a real life character before, with Stalin.
R.D. Ooh yes, Stalin was a tough role.
B.L.
Playing someone like Robert E. Lee who was so revered, so loved,
what kind of responsibility did you feel?
R.D. It was an honor to play him. I always said that it was a responsibility,
not a pressure but a responsibility. I wanted to do it as truthfully
as I could. Often you see people playing the costume or the period.
I just wanted to play a man with the correct makeup and costume,
but just play it as truthful as we are talking and listening right
now. I went from that point of view but I felt confident from my
background and where I come from and people I know that I would
be able to do it.
B.L.
Plus, you spend a lot of time up on a horse!
R.D. I’m at home on most horses, I can tell you that much!
I used to ride a lot, I do less of that now but I was comfortable
riding.
B.L.
What did you think of Stephen Lang who portrays General Stonewall
Jackson? That guy is really fabulous in the role.
R.D. It was really nice working with him. We didn’t have too
many scenes together but he was so committed to the role and he
fought for it so hard. He really brought everything to the table.
B.L.
Ron Maxwell who directed Gettysburg and now Gods and
Generals had quite a job ahead of him when he took on both
projects. He obviously has such a deep passion for the Civil War.
What was it like working with this man?
R.D. He was great and it was evident from the get go that he had
a vision. Ron was at the helm and he was so committed to these projects.
I know that there is talk of doing a third film. He’s the
guy to do it. There is no better director to tell stories about
the Civil War.
B.L.
Plus, the film might not have been made with the help and financing
from Ted Turner, who is one of the executive producers.
R.D. It’s funny, I said to Turner, "Do you think the
movie is too long? He said, "Well, so was the war." I
guess it wasn’t too long for him to take $90 million out of
his pocket and made it happen.
B.L.
It must have been amazing having close to 3,000 re-enactors who
portrayed the soldiers in the armies.
R.D. We could not have made the movie without them; they are the
heart and soul of these kinds of movies. These are the guys.
B.L.
This movie comes at a very poignant time in our history. We don’t
know from one minute to the next if the U.S. will go to war with
Iraq. What do you think people could learn from the Civil War or
wars past?
R.D. There will be a segment of the population who will take it
as a patriotic stance, and there will be those who will totally
negate that, which is fine. If people do take it as a patriotic
deduction then that is also fine because I think it serves as that.
We are a nation who has made mistakes, and the Civil War for one
was absolutely horrible. If we look underneath that, Lee said, "War
is so terrible we shouldn’t grow too fond of it." So
if you look underneath the battles and you dig deep you can see
that war is terrible and sometimes movies show the glamor of it.
Hopefully we can learn that war is terrible but unfortunately there
will always be wars.
B.L.
You have a whole bunch of movies coming out this year including
a film with Michael Caine, and a movie you directed called Assassination
Tango. What is left for Robert Duvall to do? Do you have an
ultimate plan?
R.D. I don’t know. I don’t really have one. But if it
comes it’s going to present itself to me. Believe it or not,
I am getting offered more parts now than I did ever before and that’s
fine with me. I don’t really know how to spell the word retire
but when it happens it’s going to happen. I’ve got four
films coming out and they are each different and for the first time
in a year in a half I’m not chomping at the bit. I took a
two-month vacation in Argentina in the sun so I am just going to
enjoy some time off, but I have some nice things coming up. You
can’t get rid of me yet!