Fresh Air – February 20, 2026 Remembering actor Robert Duvall & filmmaker Frederick Wiseman

Episode Overview

This episode of Fresh Air is dedicated to remembering two American giants: Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall and renowned documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. Through archival interviews, the hosts explore the lives, legacies, and creative philosophies of both men, featuring intimate discussions about Duvall's iconic roles and Wiseman's innovative approach to nonfiction film. The episode provides a deep look into Duvall’s methods, career highlights, and key film roles, as well as Wiseman’s philosophy on documentary filmmaking, his views on objectivity, and his enduring impact.

Remembering Robert Duvall

(Segments from 00:13 – 32:26)

Career Overview & Legacy

• Duvall died at age 95, leaving a body of work spanning over six decades, with major roles in To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Tender Mercies, Lonesome Dove, and more.
• Duvall was known for bringing complexity and subtlety to a wide range of characters, both in blockbuster films and television miniseries.

Early Life and Family Background

(02:33)

• Duvall recounts his father’s naval career:
  “He was a career naval officer… graduated the [U.S.] Naval Academy when he was 16… youngest captain in the navy during the war.” — Robert Duvall (02:38)
• On 'The Great Santini' and his parents:
  “Actually, my father was a lot quieter than that. So that character was a little more boisterous... There was no transference in my family. My mother ran it at all times.” — Robert Duvall (03:15)

On Key Roles and Working with Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather

(04:06)

• Duvall on Tom Hagen:
  “As an actor and as a character, you really can’t cross the line. You’re kind of an outsider, but yet you’re not an outsider. I really, really enjoyed the part.” — Robert Duvall (04:06)
• Favorite scenes:
  “The scene where I had to tell Brando that Sonny died in Godfather 1, that was nice.” — Robert Duvall (04:43)

Apocalypse Now

(05:54)

• The iconic line:
  “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.” — Robert Duvall (05:59)
• Duvall on the line’s legacy:
  “People come up to me and quote it to me and say it like it’s such an in thing between just me and them. But that happens with everybody the same way.” — Robert Duvall (06:01)
• On casting and improvisation:
  “The part was offered to somebody else and they turned it down. And I said to Francis, ‘I know that the part’s written for a bigger guy… but maybe I could do the part and I’ll put in my plea.’ And he gave it to me.” — (06:20)

Working with Coppola

• On Coppola’s temperament:
  “He’s a real… never comes. I want to write a book someday called ‘The Rushes Are Great,’ because everybody protects everybody by saying ‘rushes are great.’ Francis is one of the only guys that comes out of the cutting room with a long face.” — Robert Duvall (09:06)
• On production pressure:
  “Physically, they had an understudy director following him around in case he failed … That’s quite a lousy thing to do to a director. And I gained a lot of respect for Francis for working under that pressure.” — Robert Duvall (09:46)

Influences and Approach to Acting

(13:12)

• On ‘becoming’ a character:
  “It’s like play acting. Kids play house, right? And here we play house as grown-ups. We get paid good money to play house. So it’s a game, really… but you cannot lose sight of who and what you are. You have one set of emotions, one psyche, one soul. … It’s all those things turned to what seems to be something different.” — Robert Duvall (13:38)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Reflecting on a bad review:
  “You still remember: ‘…made even less palatable by Robert Duvall, whose spine tends toward a figuress, whose diction is flannel coated and whose simpering expression…’…The other paper likened me to Liberace.” — Robert Duvall (12:03)
• On working with Marlon Brando:
  “We had a great rapport then. He never spoke to me again for eight weeks... but that’s the way he is, I guess.” — Robert Duvall (10:32)

Immersive Techniques & Iconic Performances

(14:16 – 20:15)

Tender Mercies

• On authenticity in performance:
  “I said, look, I would rather not loop this [scene]... They put trucks around, and we didn't have to loop it. … They hung back with the camera and didn't come in on close-ups because sometimes close-ups spell it out too literally. … They left the camera rolling, and it kind of worked for me.” — Robert Duvall (19:38)

Lonesome Dove

(21:49 – 27:53)

• On choosing to play Augustus McCrae:
  “But, you know, this was… he’s a more outgoing guy, Augustus, and suited a certain side of my personality as much or more than the other part, really.” — Robert Duvall (25:43)
• Stuntwork and horsemanship:
  “I did most all my own riding. … But then that was working great until the pistols went off. … I stayed on for about four or five seconds, and then I bailed, or he helped me bail, and the cowboys were laughing. … I was glad that I could do my own riding.” — Robert Duvall (26:32)

The Apostle and Late Career

(28:11 – 31:26)

• On the origins of The Apostle:
  “I went into a little white clapboard church... there was a woman preaching, a Pentecostal preacher. And I said, I’ve never seen anything like this... I want to put this on film someday... It took me many, many, many years to get it off the ground.” — Robert Duvall (28:43)
• Evangelicals’ reception:
  “Most people… letters from people: ‘My father was a Pentecostal preacher… And you got it exactly right.’ So I feel, you know… right.” — Robert Duvall (31:01)

Key Duvall Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “You really can’t cross the line. You’re kind of an outsider, but yet you’re not an outsider.” — Robert Duvall (04:06)
• “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.” — Robert Duvall (05:59)
• “You cannot lose sight of who and what you are… It’s all those things turned to what seems to be something different.” — Robert Duvall (13:38)
• “I don’t trust happiness. I never did. I never will.” — as Max Sledge in Tender Mercies (19:23)
• “She didn’t love me. She loved you… Well, whores got hearts, Woodrow. And Maggie’s was the most tender I ever saw.” — as Augustus McCrae, Lonesome Dove (23:18)

Remembering Frederick Wiseman

(32:26 – 46:31)

Career Retrospective

• Wiseman died at 96, renowned for his documentaries focusing on American institutions, using a style that “lets the place be the star.”
• His films include Titicut Follies, High School, Hospital, Central Park, among many others.

Approach and Philosophy

(34:35 – 44:48)

• On choosing institutions as subjects:
  “It seemed to me that [this] was relatively unexplored territory. … The place was the star and the film would be an impressionistic… account of what the place was like and not following any one individual.” — Frederick Wiseman (34:40)
• On objectivity:
  “The whole notion of cinema verite is a baloney notion... the notion that documentary film represents truth rather than one person’s view of a matter… strikes me as obvious nonsense.” — Frederick Wiseman (40:27)
• On ambiguity in life and film:
  “Ambiguity and ambivalence rules the day… just like in our own experience or the way we act ourselves.” — Frederick Wiseman (36:55)

On Being a Documentarian

• On shifting perspectives while filming:
  “I always have a point of view. But invariably that point of view changes as a consequence of learning something.” — Frederick Wiseman (35:33)
• On including no narration or interviews:
  “I don’t like to be told what to think... the editing of the film... is the way I express my attitude.” — Frederick Wiseman (42:13)

Artistic Philosophy

• On editing as storytelling:
  “…the order in which I present the sequences and the pacing… is the way I express my attitude… it’s also related to the way a story gets told in a novel.” — Frederick Wiseman (43:42)
• On the reluctance to be an ‘instant expert’:
  “…setting yourself up as an instant expert on a subject about which you may not know all that much... so that I’m very hesitant about, say, generalizing about police or the health service delivery systems or welfare or whatever, because to the extent that I understand it, what my understanding is, is in the film...” — Frederick Wiseman (44:48)

Notable Quotes from Wiseman (with Timestamps)

• “What you could do for a prison for the criminally insane, you could do for other places, namely make a film about them.” — Frederick Wiseman (34:40)
• “Ambiguity and ambivalence rules the day.” — Frederick Wiseman (36:55)
• “The whole notion of cinema verite is a baloney notion...” — Frederick Wiseman (40:27)
• “I don’t like to be told what to think. … editing… is the way I express my attitude.” — Frederick Wiseman (42:13)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:13 | Introduction to Duvall’s career and contributions | | 02:33 | Duvall interview: family, early career, The Great Santini | | 04:06 | On The Godfather, Tom Hagen, motivations | | 05:54 | On Apocalypse Now, “napalm in the morning” | | 09:06 | Working with Coppola, pressures on set | | 10:03 | Working with Brando, acting heroes | | 13:12 | Method and immersion, comparison to play-acting | | 14:16 | On Godfather’s impact, audience recognition | | 17:12 | Tender Mercies, acting approach in emotional scenes | | 21:49 | Lonesome Dove, Augustus McCrae, horsemanship and stunts | | 28:11 | The Apostle, Pentecostal research, moral complexity | | 32:26 | Tribute to Frederick Wiseman, documentary approach | | 34:35 | Wiseman’s institutional focus and creative philosophy | | 35:33 | Changing perspectives during filming | | 40:27 | Cinema verite, objectivity and filmmaker ego | | 42:13 | Editing as authorial voice, no narration/interviews | | 44:48 | Avoiding generalization, humility as a filmmaker |

Tone and Language

The episode is reflective and respectful, full of Duvall’s grounded, self-deprecating humor and Wiseman’s measured intellectualism. Duvall’s warmth and candor shine through, especially when speaking about his family, career anxieties, and the collaborative nature of film. Wiseman is precise, philosophical, sometimes wry, and always clear about the boundaries between truth, point of view, and representation in documentary work.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode of Fresh Air offers rich first-person insight into two American originals. Whether discussing mafia consigliere Tom Hagen, haunted country singer Max Sledge, or the challenge of filming inside a hospital, Duvall and Wiseman discuss their craft with wit, wisdom, and humility. Their stories, reflections, and teachings make this a master class in acting, storytelling, and the art of noticing the complicated truth beneath the surface of institutions and personalities alike.