Robert Duvall: The almost‑Brody who wanted to be Quint
Hollywood “what‑ifs” don’t get much juicier than this: Robert Duvall—yes, that Robert Duvall, who has died today at the age of 95 —was once in Steven Spielberg’s sights for JAWS.
Before the great white ever terrorised cinemas, Spielberg briefly considered Duvall for Chief Brody, but Duvall was far more interested in the crusty shark hunter who became one of the film’s most iconic characters.
Either role made sense. Duvall’s debut as Boo Radley in To Kill A Mocking Bird showed he could command attention with almost no dialogue.
His turn as Tom Hagen in The Godfather proved he could project quiet authority. And whether it was Network or his 11-minute film stealing performance in Apocalypse Now, he could have played captain of cop.
Universal locked in Roy Scheider, and Duvall - and cinemagoers - missed their chance of seeing him play the eccentric fisherman, with Spielberg feeling he was too young. So the role of Quint sailed on to Robert Shaw, and JAWS became the blockbuster blueprint we know today.
Duvall went on to win his Oscar for Tender Mercies, a performance so grounded and humane it still gets cited as one of the great understated wins.
In later supporting roles he still delivered, whether it was opposite Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder or Jack Reacher, against an asteroid in Deep Impact, Kevin Costner in Open Range, Michael Douglas in Falling Down, and Oscar-nominated turn as Robert Downey Jr's dad in The Judge, or, for the eagle‑eyed: yes, that really is him in a blink‑and‑you’ll‑miss‑it cameo as a priest on a swing in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Even in silence, he left a mark.
Turns out Duvall never needed a shark to cement his legacy. He built it on craft, consistency and presence.
Some alternate universe may have him staring out at the ocean on board the Orca, which no doubt would have been a good fit. But in this one, he didn’t need JAWS to become a beloved giant of cinema.
What's your favourite Duvall film? And do you think he would have made a good Quint or Brody?