Line #27 Creator/GregoryPeck


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gregorypeck01.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Inside of all the makeup and the character and makeup, it's you, and I think that's what the audience is really interested in... you, how you're going to cope with the situation, the obstacles, the troubles that the writer put in front of you."''
4
5	Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor who was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. A tall, dark, clean-cut, all-American with a stirring voice and a sincere squint, he mostly made a career of playing [[IncorruptiblePurePureness incorruptible pillars of virtue and wisdom.]] Best known for his Oscar-winning turn as Atticus Finch in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' (voted by the Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute as the greatest hero in the history of American film, a week before Peck died), he played similarly admirable characters in films such as ''Literature/TheYearling'', ''Film/GentlemansAgreement'', ''Film/TwelveOClockHigh'', and ''Film/TheBigCountry''. The Gregory Peck Law goes like this:
6
7	''The frequency with which a character threatens Gregory Peck and his family is inversely proportional with their chances of surviving the movie.''
8
9	He also liked to occasionally [[PlayingAgainstType play way against type]], with roles such as bigoted rapist Lewt [=McCanles=] in ''Film/DuelInTheSun'', or Josef Mengele in ''Literature/TheBoysFromBrazil''. In real life, he had a reputation as a gentleman and was a classical NiceGuy -- which is a key reason he enjoyed playing Atticus Finch so much. In fact, Harper Lee (who wrote ''To Kill a Mockingbird'') said he reminded her of her father (on whom she'd based Atticus Finch). So much so that she gave Peck her father's pocketwatch, and he wore it in the film.
10
11	He was also known as one of the most vocal and outspoken liberals in Hollywood, opposing nuclear weapons, the Hollywood blacklist, and the Vietnam War (while still speaking proudly of his son Stephen who was serving in the Marine Corps during that time), marching for civil rights and later speaking out in support of gun control and LGBTQ rights well into his eighties.
12
13	Peck was married twice and had a total of five children (three from his first marriage, two from his second). He died of cardiorespiratory arrest and bronchial pneumonia in 2003.
14
15	His grandson Creator/{{Ethan\|Peck}} is the latest actor to play the character of [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Spock]] in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' and ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds''.
16
17	Fun fact: His name is UsefulNotes/CockneyRhymingSlang for "neck". Depending on age, this may be the way that British youngsters are introduced to Gregory Peck.
18	----
19	!! List of his works with pages on this wiki:
20
21	* ''Film/DaysOfGlory'' (1944) -- film debut
22	* ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'' (1945)
23	* ''Literature/TheYearling'' (1946)
24	* ''Film/DuelInTheSun'' (1946)
25	* ''Film/GentlemansAgreement'' (1947)
26	* ''Film/TheParadineCase'' (1947)
27	* ''Film/TwelveOClockHigh'' (1949)
28	* ''Film/TheGunfighter'' (1950)
29	* ''Film/HoratioHornblower, R.N.'' (1951)
30	* ''Film/OnlyTheValiant'' (1951)
31	* ''Film/RomanHoliday'' (1953)
32	* ''Film/TheMillionPoundNote'' (1954)
33	* ''Film/MobyDick'' (1956)
34	* ''Film/DesigningWoman'' (1957)
35	* ''Film/TheBigCountry'' (1958)
36	* ''Film/TheBravados'' (1958)
37	* ''Film/PorkChopHill'' (1959)
38	* ''Literature/OnTheBeach'' (1959)
39	* ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'' (1961)
40	* ''Film/HowTheWestWasWon'' (1962)
41	* ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' (1962)
42	* ''Film/CapeFear'' (both versions, 1962/91)
43	* ''Film/{{Mirage\|1965}}'' (1965)
44	* ''Film/{{Arabesque}}'' (1966)
45	* ''Film/MackennasGold'' (1969)
46	* ''Film/{{Marooned}}'' (1969)
47	* ''Film/BillyTwoHats'' (1974)
48	* ''Film/{{The Omen\|1976}}'' (1976)
49	* ''Literature/TheBoysFromBrazil'' (1978)
50	* ''Film/TheSeaWolves'' (1980)
51	* ''Series/TheBlueAndTheGray'' (1982)
52	* ''Film/TheScarletAndTheBlack'' (1983)
53	* ''Film/AmazingGraceAndChuck'' (1987)
54	* ''Film/OtherPeoplesMoney'' (1991)
55
56	!! Tropes in Gregory Peck's work:
57
58	* CreatorBacklash: He expressed distaste for his performance in ''Film/MobyDick'', feeling he was miscast as Ahab (on one occasion, he commented that director Creator/JohnHuston should have played the role himself). He supposedly persuaded Creator/StevenSpielberg to scrap a scene in ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' where Quint watches the movie because Peck didn't want people to see his performance.
59	* LargeAndInCharge: He stood at an imposing 6'3" and was regularly cast as leaders and admirable figures.
60	* NiceGuy: His usual roles were almost always noble, charming, righteous men fighting injustice where they saw it. By all accounts, he was very much the same in real life.
61	* ShoutOut: He got an extended one in Music/BobDylan's 1986 song "Brownsville Girl" (which Dylan co-wrote with Music/SamShepard). The narrator starts out remembering a Peck movie he once saw (not named, but, based on the description, obviously ''Film/TheGunfighter''), before unwinding a long ShaggyDogStory, with a few more references to Peck sprinkled around.
62	-->''Well, I’m standin’ in line in the rain to see a movie starring Gregory Peck\
63	Yeah, but you know it’s not the one that I had in mind\
64	He’s got a new one out now, I don’t even know what it’s about\
65	But I’ll see him in anything so I’ll stand in line''
66	* TallDarkAndHandsome: He stood at an imposing 6'3" with dark hair and brooding good looks.
67	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
68	** UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson once told Peck that had he sought re-election in 1968, it would have offered Peck the post of U.S. ambassador to UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}. Peck, being of Irish ancestry, later said that he likely would have taken the job. Johnson gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Peck to make up for not being able to give the offer.
69	** Peck was also seriously considered for the role of Professor Henry Jones Sr., AKA: Indy's father, in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', had Creator/SeanConnery turned down the role. Creator/HarrisonFord even cited Peck as one of his favorite actors. Incidentally, Peck actually ''was'' old enough to be Ford's father, being 26 years older than Ford as opposed to Connery, who is only 12 years older than Ford.
70	** Was offered a role in ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'', during its preproduction period as a river spirit. He turned down the role when the producers explained the plot to him and the character he would play, making the argument that Pocahontas already had several male mentor figures and they really needed to hear a female one. Taking his advice, the crew drafted the concept that would become Grandmother Willow. He often said in interviews how the one regret in his career was that he was never in a Creator/{{Disney}} movie.[[note]]Peck was always a great admirer of Disney animation; he lobbied for ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'' to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and named ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 The Lion King]]'' as his all-time favorite animated film.[[/note]]
71	** His family confirmed that just before he died, he was going to come out of retirement to play Grandpa Joe in ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. While he told the creators he was only considering it, that was just to ensure they wouldn't make him take a pay cut.
72

Context Creator / GregoryPeck