Robert Duvall: Turning 80 and Staying Young with Dance

The man who was the mouthpiece for the mob is going swimming with the fishes. 

Uh, this is a good thing. 

Later tonight, he might go dancing. If he has a little spare time this afternoon, he might just jump on a horse.

How delicious! Robert Duvall, star of "The Godfather," is not acting his age.

PS: He just turned 80.

 "I'm sitting in Virginia in a house built in 1734 My wife says Virginia is the last station before heaven. We do have a beautiful house here and I love it," Duvall tells me on a weekday morning at his farm.

"When I get done talking to you, I'm going to take a good swim. It's good exercise. I ride horses, but I have to get on a kind horse. They're not machines. They don't love you like a dog does."

His new movie is called "Seven Days in Utopia" about a young golfer (Lucas Black) who ends up stuck in a small town where he meets a rancher (Duvall) who teaches him about life.

The movie is one of those small gems you can't miss.

Of course, Duvall didn't take it easy on the set.

"I actually rode a horse for two scenes in 'Utopia,' a stallion who had never been in a movie. It was this great athletic horse, but we had a talk.

"I told him, 'Hey, I just had a big birthday. Maybe you're a 'Godfather' fan. Please don't act like a stallion. Act like a dog who really likes me.'"

The horse listened.

"He would come over, nudge me and operated on his slow speed," Duvall says. "See, you can do anything at any age. You just need to work the variables in your favor."

THE MOVIE LEGEND

Duvall's filmography includes 1962's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the epic 1989 miniseries "Lonesome Dove" plus "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II." He won a Best Actor Oscar for 1983's "Tender Mercies."

He says that most of his movies have his fans claiming insomnia.

Yes, Duvall is a reason to stay up in the wee hours.

"I know people who say, 'Bobby, I've seen 'Godfather' about 900 times.' My answer is, 'Even I watch it late at night and if you're from Texas you've also seen 'Lonesome Dove' about 905 times," he jokes.

He says his new Utopia movie has a nice message that he hopes will stick with fans. It's not just that a man of a certain age can look splendid in a cowboy hat, jeans, and boots. 

"I teach this young man what I personally believe in life, which is in the most serious of times, you can find a reason to laugh at the irony."

STAYING YOUNG AT HEART

Duvall says that 80 snuck up on him.

"I don't feel my age," he says. "I think you just got to keep moving even when you want to stop. Get out of the chair."

In his spare time, Duvall loves to practice the tango with his wife. He turned that love into a 2002 film he starred in and directed called "Assassination Tango."

"Now, it's about social dancing for me," he says of his hoofing hobby. "My wife and I love going to Argentina to watch dance championships.

"The tango is a very hard dance, but I like doing anything that's tough," he says. "It's important to keep yourself challenged at this age and any age."

He hates the R word.

 "I don't want to retire yet. They say you don't retire, but this business retires you.

"We'll see," he says. "I know I've got a few left in me.

"The funny thing is now the offers are better than ever although no one has any money. I have a new script that puts Tennessee Williams in the backseat, but we still need to get the money.

"It's always the same old story," he says with a sigh.

"I'm like, 'Come on, guys. Let's get this going before they have to wipe the drool off of me.'"

Duvall says he still gets a rush from walking on a film set.

"You know, I've been doing this for so long and I still get that buzz. If you don't have a buzz for something then what's the point?" he poses.

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