that they compete on—very calm. They let me do what I could do on it, ’cause it was bomb proof. Terrific horse. We were riding through the Virginia countryside and we came to a small canine graveyard, and that horse almost jumped out from under me.  Something [must have] jumped out of the grave or something!BROWN: When did you learn to ride?

DUVALL: Oh, just growing up, and then in California when I had a lot of free time years ago. I wanted to ride Western, but a lot of guys who ride Western are terrible horsemen. They had a place that was a great big facility, and you’d rent a horse for three, four, five dollars an hour. I’d take a horse out bareback, Western saddle, English saddle— I like English saddle—and jump a little bit. I wanted to have a good seat for movies, for Westerns, because so many actors don’t have good seats. That’s where that hobby started—to help my career. When I did Lonesome Dove, even for the stunts, I did my own riding.

BROWN: A lot of actors will say that they can ride when they can’t. Did you ever exaggerate or lie on your résumé when you first started out as an actor?

DUVALL: [laughs] It’s been a while since I’ve had a résumé. Been a while since I auditioned. One thing comes to mind: I liked to do different accents. I played Watson once in a movie and I played a Scottish accent—it’s different from the English [accent]. It’s much different; when you go to Glasgow you need a gun with floating subtitles. I did try out once for a play; it was to play of a young King Henry VIII. I got up there and did a pretty good English accent, and the director said, “Where did you learn to do that?” And then he had me do it again. I didn’t get the part, but I puzzled him a little bit!

BROWN: Jeremy Irvine is a great actor. I always assumed he was just pretty.

DUVALL: Yeah, he’s from England. He did a good American accent.

BROWN: I just saw him in The Railway Man—

DUVALL: Oh, is Jeremy in that? I bet that’s a nice movie.

DUVALL: That’s what I hear. Does Jeremy play a soldier?

BROWN: Yes. He plays a younger version of Colin Firth’s character.

DUVALL: Great, that’s nice. He’s nice to work with. He loves Southeast Texas. He got on the mechanical bull—we told him you can’t do that ’til the movie’s over. [laughs] You might get hurt! But he was great to work with. Angie Cepeda was terrific to work with; she’s from Colombia. Interesting young lady. Her mother used to be a prosecuting attorney.  She’d sit behind curtains when she prosecuted the drug people, for protection, so they wouldn’t know who she was.

[Angie Cepeda] works in Madrid. Ed Johnston, the casting guy, found her. She had to do her own screen test in a makeshift thing and she captivated all of us. [It was a ] very good cast. I love working in Texas anyway—especially that part of Texas. Brownsville’s supposed to be the most corrupt town in Texas. The [border] wall is right there; you could touch it. The ladies brought us some cabrito, some goat, from a restaurant over in Mexico one day. Nice ladies. I said it was very good, and they said “Oh, come to our restaurant across the border,” I said, “I’m not coming across.” Too dangerous around there. I have friends that are sheriffs around there, who are half Mexican but are American citizens, and they said: “Don’t cross the border.” Too dangerous.

I gotta see this film though, ’cause I hear it’s good. Colin Firth is very talented. Jeremy plays him younger? Does a nice job?

BROWN: Does a great job.

DUVALL: That’s nice. Do you know where I love to go to London? You know the Capital Hotel, in the back of Harrods? They’ve always had a really good restaurant there. Now they’ve changed hands, and they have a chef who brings all the fish in from the West Country. We were there a year ago, Christmas, to do some publicity. It’s a really little place, you go sit for hours; I love it. I’ve always had good food in England. Cecconi’s—very good Italian food at Cecconi’s. The French still come over to see how to do roasts from the British.

BROWN: Do you remember your first trip to England?

DUVALL: Yeah! I did a play over there. I was terrible; I was so nervous. I’d never been on a plane before. I said, “This isn’t so bad,” and we weren’t even off the ground yet! [laughs] But I liked London. It was so far back—it was when [Brazilian soccer player] Pelé was a young man—18 years old. I go back sporadically, it’s a very pleasant place to go to, London. A lot going on. And I like soccer a lot. I was in Mexico [working on Lawman, 1971] when Pelé was still playing for Brazil [in the World Cup]. England was out-played and Brazil won. The crew I was working within Mexico was British, so I came back and I knew the outcome. The director, Michael Winter, do you know that name? Bad guy. He ordered a horse killed in front of everybody. Sicko.

BROWN: Oh my goodness.

DUVALL: There are stories about him you can find.

BROWN: Was he trying to scare everyone into submission?

DUVALL: He may have, I don’t know. I heard that he ordered a car blown up in Piccadilly during rush hour, and they wouldn’t do it. He was a wacko that guy.

BROWN: Have you worked with other directors who are a bit off-the-wall like that?

DUVALL: Yeah, most of ’em. Directors say actors are difficult to work with, well, what about directors? It’s our face that goes up there; it’s only their name.

Coppola, he’s got his visions, but he waits to see what you do. I’ve worked with directors before who’ll say, “When I say action, tense up, goddamnit!” There’s a difference between tensing up and intensity. So some of the directors are a little difficult to work, for sure.

BROWN: Do you find directing more stressful than acting? I know you’ve done both.  

DUVALL: I heard it was impossible to direct yourself, but I find it terrific. If I was in control, I acted better. Not that I watched all the dailies all the time, but I did it twice in a row and I loved it. I’m going to be doing it again coming up.

BROWN: Are you allowed to talk about the film?

DUVALL: Why not? [laughs] It’s just a film about the Texas Rangers, and a son that’s kicked off the property for some reason. He comes back years later and there’s been a crime committed. There’s a female Texas ranger—there are only three in reality— and this lady ranger helps to solve the case.

BROWN: What’s the last film that really spoke to you?

DUVALL: [There were] certain performances. I thought the performance by Matthew McConaughey [in Dallas Buyers Club] was outstanding. I don’t know if he’ll ever be that good again. I always say people have their year, and they have their career too. Last year it was Joaquin Phoenix in The Master. [There was] Brad Pitt in Snatch. Eric Bana in Chopper. Do you see Chopper?

BROWN: No, I didn’t.

DUVALL: Oh, you should see that performance. I don’t know if he’ll ever be that good again.

BROWN: Are there any films you regret not doing?

DUVALL: Not really. I’ve turned some things down. They offered me the lead in Jaws. I wanted to play the other part, the one that the guy from England played, Robert Shaw, but I was too young. I had a talk with Spielberg. But I don’t feel bad that I turned down the part of the lead, ’cause I like more character parts. But there are certain parts that slipped away.