(NBC News) - Robert Duvall, the commanding and supremely versatile actor who earned a lasting place in American movie history as a stoic Mafia consigliere in “The Godfather,” a surf-loving Army colonel in “Apocalypse Now” and a washed-up country crooner in “Tender Mercies,” died Sunday at the age of 95.

Duvall died peacefully in his home in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife at his side, according to a statement from his family. He did not want a formal service, so his family encouraged fans to honor his memory by "watching a great film, telling a good story around a table with friends, or taking a drive in the countryside to appreciate the world’s beauty."

Robert Seldon Duvall was born Jan. 5, 1931, in San Diego to Mildred Hart, an amateur actress, and William Duvall, a U.S. Navy rear admiral. He grew up on Navy bases around the country — including the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland — and graduated from Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, in 1953.

He served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. When Duvall returned to stateside, he studied drama under the storied instructor Sanford Meisner at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse, where his classmates included Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and James Caan.

In those years, Duvall made a living working odd jobs around New York and roomed with Hoffman and Hackman. He appeared in various Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including productions of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and “A View from the Bridge,” and landed guest spots on popular television shows such as “The Twilight Zone.”

He did not make his film debut until age 31, taking on the small but crucial role of Arthur “Boo” Radley in the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

He was nominated for seven Academy Awards and seven Golden Globes. He won the best actor Oscar in 1984 for his turn as alcoholic country singer Mac Sledge in Bruce Beresford’s “Tender Mercies.”

(Photo Getty Images)

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