Below is a snapshot of the Web page as it appeared on 3/2/2024 (the last time our crawler visited it). This is the version of the page that was used for ranking your search results. The page may have changed since we last cached it. To see what might have changed (without the highlights), go to the current page.
Bing is not responsible for the content of this page.
Robert Duvall Watches Stephen’s Favorite Scene From The Film “Network” | Robert Duvall watches one of his scenes in “Network” and shares his acting process behind that moment in the movie. | By The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Very welcome back. Welcome back
everybody to part two of my rare interview with legendary
actor Robert Duvall. What was it like doing the godfather? I
assume for men of your generation, actor of your
generation, Brando, who is sort of one generation before y'all.
He was our godfather, really. Dustin Hoffman, myself, and
Gene Hackman used to get, we get in once a week in uh that
drugstore up there in New York in the midtown and the we
mentioned Brando once we mentioned it twenty-five times
in the day and the first time Gene Hackman ever met Brando
was by accident and he almost cried. Like a bumped in him on
the street or something. Yeah, yeah. Gene, yeah. What was
Brando like? He's an enigmatic figure to people who obviously
the public, people like me. What was he like in person to
work with? What was actually the working room? Well, I work
with him uh on the first time I work with him was on the on the
chase and we got talked about the script and he said, how you
doing? This and that and this and that. I said, oh, we're
gonna be buddies and he, for the next six weeks, he never
even said good morning. That was his, that was his deal, you
know, but he was uh, I, I, I met a guy from England, a very
top-notch English actor and he said he wants to see streetcar
named Desire and he said, he was embarrassed because he
thought a stage handed wandered onto the stage accidentally,
and it was Brando. He was so natural. He said he saw it
seven times. Brando said some things about acting that I'm
wondering as somebody who admired him you thought of as
as you came into your own success and and your own
development as an artist. He said that uh something along
the lines of acting isn't a proper profession for a man.
And that it's a sort of an emptily and an empty and
meaningless speaking for himself. I wanna understand
that but if somebody like if if I like my comedic heroes if I
if someone said to me well being a comedian is not a
worthy thing to do. It would it would uh affect me emotionally.
Hear that. I was wondering what was it like to hear that from
if you did hear it from a hero like that? Well, he said a lot
of things that came out strangely, you know. He had
strange aspects to him. I got a letter from him and down in my
living room that I value as much as my Oscar. Were there
any directors you work with some of the great directors of
the twentieth century as well? Were there directors that you
wish you could have worked with? You'd like John Houston?
Or I was gonna do his last movie John Houston. And he
died. But uh no, II intend not to get along with too many
directors. You don't get along with them? Yeah. What does that
mean? How does that practically play out? Cuz. Get out of my
way. Get out of my way. Because they'll be telling you how to
do your job? Maybe. Or or implying that, you know, giving
you line readings. Well, just hovering, hovering. What should
a director do? Stand back and see. That's what Copola does.
To see what you do, see what you bring and what you then
he'll he'll use it or whatever but Coppola's very was very
good that way. Just you know, uh standing back and see what
you do. That's why they hire you to see what you do cuz when
actress get together and say, what was that director say?
Well, he left me alone. Oh, terrific. You've done so many
incredible films. Um as I said, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now,
Mash, the original Frank Burns. Nice. Um for me, it's I
wouldn't say it's necessarily your greatest performance. III
agree with the academy that Tender Mercies is perhaps your
your greatest performance is an incredibly beautiful film. Um
but your performance is Frank Hackett in network is the one
that leads out to me. It's one of my favorite films. Let's see
that again. You haven't seen network in a while? A long
time. Could I show you a clip from it and it's my favorite
scene of yours that you ever did. Could I it's a two-minute
scene. Could we watch it together? Okay. Okay. So this
is the scene uh just to to remind the audience here that
this is the scene after um Peter Finch's character Howard
Beal after Howard Beal has become a hit and he's clearly
not well and he's living with Max Schumacher who's Bill
Holden's character and he's run away some place and they don't
know where and you want him to find uh Howard Beal because
you've got a hit on your hands and you've just been made head
of the network. Right. And what I love about the scene is that
you have an incredible intensity. There are enormous
choices being made in this movie. I mean, it's a satire on
many levels. Right. But there's there are big performance
choices being made and I just like to watch with you and ask
you a few questions after it's over. Who wrote this? Patrick.
Patty Shayaski wrote it. Yeah, good guy. So, let's let's just
watch and see what you uh what you remember from this moment.
Well, You hagget. You want me out of here, you're gonna have
to drag me out kicking and screaming and the whole news
division kicking and screaming with me. You think they're
gonna quit their jobs for you, not in this recession, buddy.
Ready gets Becky, I'll have your **** I gotta hit
Schumacher and Rudy doesn't count anymore. He was hoping I
fall on my face with his beal show but I didn't. It's a big,
fat, big hit and I don't have to walk him around with Rudy
anymore. If he wants to take me up before the CCA board, let
him. Do you think Rudy is stupid enough to go to the CCA
board and say, I'm picking a one hit show off the air and
comes November fourteen, I'm gonna be standing up there at
the annual CCA management review meeting and I'm gonna
announce projected earnings for this network for the first time
in 5 years and believe me, mister Jensen is gonna be
sitting there rocking back and forth in his little chair and
he's gonna say, that's very good, Frank. Keep it up. So,
don't have any about who's running this network from now
on. You're fired. I want you out of your office before noon
or I'll have you thrown out. That's it. Yeah. That's the
scene. You remember shooting that. Yeah, just so and I think
I did okay. You gotta keep it within your temperament. What
what you, what your temperament, your, you know,
your sense of whatever. You know, your your anger, your
your vulnerability, or whatever. It's gotta be your
temperament without stepping out of that and then it becomes
more like acting but you try to keep it with, you know, from
you, from your temperament. You know, interpreted a certain
way. I assume that would be particularly helpful in a film
where there are big acting choices being made 'cuz Bill
Holden and Faye Dunaway are making huge choices in that
scene too and and yet, all of it seems believable. Right,
right. Is that what you mean by keeping within the temperament?
Yeah, keeping, yeah, yeah. If you, you know, it can be like,
would you come over here please? Would you come over
here please? You know, I mean, it's still you doing it within
your set of emotions or your temperament or your psyche or
whatever you wanna call it. You know, that's what uh and
without over acting, you know, it's gonna be you gotta be in
touch with your temperament. One of the things I love about
that scene, I've always, I've always loved that moment when
you say, you're fired, I want you out of here before noon or
I'll have you thrown out. This absolute, the gesture you make
right there feels like you're picking up William Holden and
throwing him out of the room and that's it in, that is a
pure, understandable, visceral intention feeling from that
character there. I remember the producer came into my dressing
room to say something. And II didn't like the guy. I didn't
wanna hear him. I said, would you turn around and walk the
out of this room? So, I said to the guy, okay. Yeah. When we
come back, Robert Duvall gives me an acting lesson.
Robert Duvall watches one of his scenes in “Network” and shares his acting process behind that moment in the movie.
See less
Comments
Most relevant
Al Reyes
MY FAVORITE SCENE FOR BOB DUVALL....FROM THE MOVIE...'THE GREAT SANTINI' WHERE HE IS A MARINE CORPS. COL. AND HE TELLS HIS NEW SQUAD AT HIS NEW AIR BASE....' I'D KID YOU NOT...THIS IS THE EYE OF THE STORM'..