Robert Duvall (right) stars with Michael Caine in Secondhand Lions

Duvall, who won a best actor Oscar for Tender Mercies, starred in Apocalypse Now, The Godfather and To Kill A Mockingbird.

Billy Bob Thornton paid tribute on Thursday, calling Duvall "the greatest actor I have been around".

The 72-year-old performer said his career was far from over. "I've still got a lot in me before they start wiping away the drool," Duvall said.

Intense

Having served in the US Army for a year, Duvall made his film debut as Arthur "Boo" Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird.

His intense screen prescence earned Oscar nominations for The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Great Santini before he won the award in 1983.

"I always knew after The Godfather that I would do maybe OK," Duvall said at the Hollywood Boulevard ceremony in Los Angeles.

"When I was young everything was so black and white I came out of a kind of a state of innocence.

"But now as I grow older I have more experience, I feel I have more to offer to become a better performer."