EXCLUSIVE: Robert Duvall Was a Real-Life Goodfella! How Oscar-Winner Buddied Up With Bad Boys to Play Mob Lawyer in 'The Godfather'
Robert Duvall befriended mob figures to prepare for his lawyer role in 'The Godfather.'
March 12 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
Godfather icon Robert Duvall – who died at 95 after a seven-decade career that thrilled millions – had a dangerous, real-life brush with the Mafia before playing the Don's consigliere, Tom Hagen, in the 1972 mob drama, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to insiders who were on-set, Duvall befriended real-life Mafia-linked thugs based in New York's East Harlem – where much of the film was shot – to get a grasp of "the life" while prepping for the role.
Duvall Embraced Corleone Family Loyalty
Robert Duvall allegedly befriended Mafia-linked figures in East Harlem while preparing to portray Tom Hagen in 'The Godfather.'
What emerged was an impression of loyalty before all else – the mindset he used to shape Hagen, the orphan who had been found by Don Vito Corleone's son Sonny and adopted by his family.
According to sources, Duvall also met with real-life mobsters from the notorious Colombo and Bufalino crime families on the Godfather set who acted as extras and advisors for the film.
In one humorous incident, a boozy Marlon Brando, who played Vito, mooned a gaggle of gawking gangsters – and somehow got away with it.
Duvall Immersed Himself In Roles
Marlon Brando allegedly stunned visiting mobsters when the 'The Godfather' actor mooned them on set.
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Sources said Duvall's approach to religiously preparing for the role was common practice for the actor who became a film legend.
He once joined a country music band and tramped around East Texas to prepare for the role of a washed-up singer in 1983's Tender Mercies.
He also embedded himself with police detectives before playing a hard-boiled gumshoe in 1981's True Confessions and palled around with an ex-con before playing the hustler Teach in the 1977 Broadway drama American Buffalo.
"That sort of preparation allowed him to fully disappear into his roles," said a source. "He'd literally become the character in a way some found creepy."
