Robert Duvall and Diane Lane attend the rehearsals for 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 1989 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Robert Duvall and Diane Lane attend the rehearsals for 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16, 1989 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Diane Lane Played Robert Duvall's Love Interest in 'Lonesome Dove'

It's amazing to think how long Diane Lane has been working in Hollywood. Ever since her big-screen debut opposite Laurence Olivier in A Little Romance, Lane has gone on to appear in countless major films like Under The Tuscan Sun, Unfaithful, Secretariat, A Walk on the Moon, The Perfect Storm, Inside Out, Glass House, Trumbo and Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House. She even played Martha Kent opposite Kevin Costner in the major blockbusters Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. She's been nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globes, Emmys and more, proving that she is one of the best actresses of her time.

Lane grew up in New York City, moving to Los Angeles at the age of 15 after emancipating from her parents. Since her teenage years, she continued to move her way up in Hollywood. She appeared opposite Kenny Rogers in Six Pack, worked with Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders, The Cotton Club and Rumble Fish, and appeared in the '80s rock musical Streets of Fire. She appeared opposite Richard Gere in Nights in Rodanthe, with Tim Robbins in the HBO film Cinema Verite, starred opposite Ben Affleck in Hollywoodland, appeared with Matt Dillon in The Big Town, as well as starred in numerous TV shows including The Romanoffs, House of Cards, and the new series Y: The Last Man. The woman has worked with just about everyone in the industry.

Lonesome Dove

But one performance we really can't forget is Lane starring as Lorena "Lorie" Wood, Robert Duvall's love interest in the miniseries Lonesome Dove. The memorable role even earned the actress her first Emmy Award nomination. In old cast interviews, Lane gave some interesting perspective into what it was like appearing on the now-classic miniseries based on Larry McMurtry's novel. 

Read More: 8 Things You Didn't Know About 'Lonesome Dove'

"I hadn't read the book before I read the screenplay, but once I started to read the book it was so helpful to me....the whole era was right there in the style of writing, in the details of his description, the interior monologue of the characters. He'd go into each character as much as any other character so you'd really get different points of view of that time and how hard it really was to survive then and the small things that were the joys of life."

As much of an adventure it was watching the series, also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover and Anjelica Huston, it was apparently quite a wild ride behind the scenes. 

"Portraying Lorena was nice because it wasn't just your stereotypical role that you've seen in more old-fashioned westerns...I'll never forget the scenes we did with Blue Duck where I'm in the dirt for a day with the scorpions and spiders and ants crawling in my skirt. It was very adventurous!"

The miniseries proved that Diane Lane was quite at home in a rugged western setting. Her second film, Cattle Annie and Little Britches was a western she starred in with Burt Lancaster, and she recently starred in a modern western with former co-star Kevin Costner, Let Him Go. Who do we need to call to get Lane to cameo on Yellowstone??

While she was briefly married to Christopher Lambert with whom she welcomed her only child Eleanor, fans are much more familiar with her longtime marriage to Josh Brolin which lasted from 2004 to 2013.

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This article previously ran in October of 2021.