"I'm putting my foot in it on my birthday, actually, because today is my birthday," he said. "And it's my wife's birthday, too."
His wife, Luciana Pedraza, was there to share in the day, as well as some of the actor's longtime friends, including "Godfather" co-star James Caan, Andy Garcia, Billy Bob Thornton, "Crazy Heart" writer/director Scott Cooper and "Get Low" producer Dean Zanuck.
"When you watch his work, you don't see the camera, you don't see the craft. All you see is life," said Garcia.
"Basically, I've never met anybody with any more passion or energy, and what's really scary is that it's getting bigger. I mean, it just keeps growing," added Caan.
Thornton called Duvall his "hero, friend, mentor, everything."
"I had the pleasure of directing Bobby, writing for him and acting with him a few times. And it's always been one of the honors of my life," he said.
After Duvall is done with his commitments for awards season for his work in "Get Low," he's reuniting with Thornton one more time.
"It's good to be here with the Hillbilly Orson Welles -- Billy Bob Thornton. We're going to work together this spring," said Duvall. "He's written a brilliant, brilliant script -- he and Tom Epperson -- that for me puts Tennessee Williams in a back seat."
