as indestructible , napalm-loving Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Coppola 's Vietnam war opus `` Apocalypse Now '' that remains one of Duvall 's most enduring roles . Duvall sits down with CNN 's Revealed and talks about , `` Apocalypse Now '' and his relationship with the master movie-maker . Revealed : Can you sum up the impact Coppola had on your life , your career ? RD : I would have had another career . He helped all our careers with `` The Godfather . '' It was a kind of catalyst for all the actors in one and two . It helped me . I kinda designed my own career . Revealed : What 's Coppola 's approach to directing ? RD : I think sometimes Francis works best amidst confusion and I mean that in a good way . He 'll come in and say , ` Let 's try something , ' and then you rehearse . Like any good director he sees what you bring . He realizes it 's got ta come from the actor . He 's open enough ... of course , he 'll give his opinion but he wants to see
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- He immortalized the `` smell of napalm in the morning '' in `` Apocalypse Now , '' but Robert Duvall 's first meeting with director Francis Ford Coppola was no indication of the fruitful relationship to come . Duvall starred in Francis Ford Coppola 's `` The Godfather , '' `` The Godfather : Part II '' and `` Apocalypse Now . '' It was 1969 and Coppola had parted ways with a lead character in indie film `` The Rain People . '' He was stuck and 38-year-old Duvall was drafted in at the last minute on the suggestion of a friend . Despite slapdash beginnings , their work together has produced some of Duvall 's greatest roles and many of Coppola 's most critically-acclaimed films . Duvall started working in theater in the 1950s before moving into film in the early 1960s with roles like Boo Radley in `` To Kill a Mockingbird . '' Things took off for him in 1970s when he starred in Coppola 's multiple award-winning movies `` The Godfather '' and `` The Godfather : Part II , '' But , it is his Oscar-nominated turn