Mac Sledge — Tender Mercies (1983)

The role that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Mac Sledge is a washed-up country singer slowly finding redemption through faith and unexpected love in the Texas plains. Duvall co-produced the film, wrote several of the songs himself, and delivered a performance of such quiet, lived-in truth that critics and audiences were stunned. It remains one of the most understated Oscar-winning performances in history.