Robert Duvall’s role in The Judge includes a major callback to his feature film debut that was released more than 6 decades ago. Directed by David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus), The Judge is a powerful legal drama that gained popularity on Netflix in May 2024 after originally being released in 2014. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, earning just a 48 Metascore and a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Judge has strong ratings among audiences.

Duvall, the celebrated actor who starred in The Godfather (1971), The Godfather Part II (1974), Network (1976), and Apocalypse Now (1979), leads the cast of The Judge alongside a star-studded cast of Robert Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Dax Shepard, Jeremy Strong, and Vincent D’Onofrio. The ending of The Judge finds the strained father-son relationship between RDJ’s Hank Palmer and Duvall’s Joseph Palmer arriving at a new level of respect and understanding.

The Judge Subtly References To Kill A Mockingbird – Robert Duvall’s Movie Debut

Duvall played Arthur “Boo” Radley in the 1962 Oscar winner

In The Judge, someone makes a reference to Atticus Finch, who is the protagonist and lead attorney in the classic 1962 movie, To Kill A Mockingbird. The film was an adaptation of the timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee, which was published in July 1960. Finch was played by Gregory Peck, the leading man in classic films such as Spellbound (1945) and Roman Holiday (1953), who won the Oscar for his role in To Kill A Mockingbird.

The mention of Atticus Finch in The Judge is also a nod to Duvall’s film debut, who played Arthur “Boo” Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall, now 93 years old, appeared in his feature film in the 1962 Oscar winner after starting his acting career in 1960 on the series Playhouse 90. Duvall earned several acting roles in various television programs during the early 1960s, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, before he began his remarkable film career in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Robert Duvall’s The Judge & To Kill A Mockingbird Roles Share Similar Twist Reveals

The Judge and To Kill A Mockingbird share themes of corruption and murder

The Judge and To Kill A Mockingbird share similar themes of corruption and murder, which creates major ethical dilemmas for the characters in each movie. What’s more, the main victim of each movie is killed, which is another stark similarity in the major twist of both The Judge and To Kill A Mockingbird. While the two are ultimately very different courtroom dramas in overall style, quality, and tone, The Judge will always share a crucial link to the origins of Duvall’s exceptional acting career in film.