Robert Duvall Chose "Days of Thunder" Over "The Silence of the Lambs"
- Dan Lalonde
- Feb 18
- 2 min read
What is your favorite Robert Duvall movie?
With the sad news of the passing last week of Robert Duvall at 95 years old, we look at an old interview he did with Bill DeYoung where he talked about choosing the role of Pit Chief Harry Hogge in 'Days of Thunder' over being in 'The Silence of the Lambs.'
Duvall said, "First they offered me one part, and then the other, and I said, "I’d rather work with Tom Cruise than wait around for these people to make up their minds." First, I had lunch with the guy to play the Anthony Hopkins part. And he calls me 20 minutes later and says “I think I’d rather have you play the FBI, and have Anthony Hopkins play this.” Which was a strange move for a director to do. So I’m just as glad I did the Cruise thing."
While you would think he may regret his choice, Duvall continued, "I think that 'Silence of the Lambs' is a well-made film. I don’t think it’s a great film; I don’t think there’s one great performance in it. I think that the guy’s very effective in the part; I think it’s very, very talented clichés. There’s nothing really fresh about it, because it’s like made-up material in a way – a guy eatin’ a liver, and this and that. But it was well-made. A little hammered-home with the close-ups. It held your attention. But it was nothing near as well-made as my favorite film in many, many years, 'My Life As a Dog'. I love stuff with kids. To me, 'My Life As a Dog' was a perfect, perfect film."
John Loyd of Backfire News just did an article on how a line in 'Days of Thunder' that Duvall said has become iconic in NASCAR circles. “He didn’t slam into you, he didn’t bump you, he didn’t nudge you. He rubbed you. And rubbin’, son, is racin’.” RIP Mr. Duvall.
Did you like 'Days of Thunder' more than 'The Silence of the Lambs'? Comment below with your thoughts.
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Source: Bill DeYoung
Photo Credit: Paramount/MGM
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