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Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

Birthday: 5 April 1916, La Jolla [now in San Diego], California, USA
Birth Name: Eldred Gregory Peck
Height: 191 cm

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California, to Bernice Mary (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck, a chemist and druggist in San Diego. He had Irish (from his paternal grandmother) ...Show More

Gregory Peck
[on The Boys from Brazil (1978)] I felt, Laurence Olivier felt, friends of mine like Walter Matthau Show more [on The Boys from Brazil (1978)] I felt, Laurence Olivier felt, friends of mine like Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon felt, that I was good in this part. Some critics seem unwilling to accept actors when they break what they think is the mold or the image. Hide
That's why those fellas were so magnificent playing the same part, because they'd played it forty ti Show more That's why those fellas were so magnificent playing the same part, because they'd played it forty times. That's why John Wayne finally became a good actor in True Grit (1969) - he's got 150 of them behind him. Now he's developed a saltiness and an earthiness and a humor and a subtlety that comes from mining that same vein over and over again. Hide
I've had my ups and downs. There have been times when I wanted to quit. Times when I hit the bottle. Show more I've had my ups and downs. There have been times when I wanted to quit. Times when I hit the bottle. Marital problems. I've touched most of the bases. Hide
When I'm wrongly cast, or in a poor script, I sink with the ship. When I'm wrongly cast, or in a poor script, I sink with the ship.
[in 1965] There are times when I could cheerfully walk out on the whole goddamn setup. I don't have Show more [in 1965] There are times when I could cheerfully walk out on the whole goddamn setup. I don't have to make pictures any more. When I first came out here to work from the New York stage, I was carved up in all directions, a dumb actor tied to a slew of contractual clauses. Today I'm my own man - free, off the hook. This is a collective business, I know. But now it's up to me to decide the stories we use and the kind of picture in which I'm prepared to get involved. I'm no longer the dumb and trusting ham being shuttled from picture to picture at someone else's whim. I'm a company boss who has to make big decisions right or wrong, responsible only to myself in the long run. For years we actors have been fighting for our so-called artistic freedom. We wanted to get rid of the moguls and their accountants. We damned the studio shylocks for their materialism and lack of taste. Now, most of us are on our own. So what happens? This morning I had to call my office and scrap a production on which people had been working for months . . . I decided it would be best to chuck it in rather than risk making a bad picture. All night I've been pacing up and down the house trying to make the right decision. I tell you there are times when I wish Hollywood actors had retained the status of bums and gypsies and left the planning to others. Right now, I'm tempted to say, "The hell with all of it". The picture has changed, my friend. The old omnipotent caliphs are dying fast. Television plus the weight of years has weakened the survivors. It will need energy and a fresh executive approach to redirect the creative drive, re-channel the talent. The monopolies of the studios have been broken. The anti-trust laws have severed their distribution outlets. The shackling of actors to loaded long-term contracts is virtually a thing of the past. In effect, I have complete control over what I do. A year of two back this was considered some kind of victory of art over tyranny. Now I'm not so sure. I'm a free soul, you remember. Before I became an actor, I wanted to be a writer. Freedom of mind and action is important to me. Right now I'd like to take off for Mexico and fish for a while and swim and read books without wondering whether they would make a good picture. Now I'll have to follow another production through from the drawing board to the cutting room. And then go out on the road and sell it with personal appearances. It can be stimulating. A challenge, as they say at Chasens. But there are times when actors like myself find themselves wishing we could resurrect Irving Thalberg and pass the ball to him or people like him. The town's wide open for any operator with the ability to finance, package and sell motion pictures. Hide
[on Gentleman's Agreement (1947)] We felt we were brave pioneers exploring anti-Semitism in the Unit Show more [on Gentleman's Agreement (1947)] We felt we were brave pioneers exploring anti-Semitism in the United States - today, it seems a little dated. Hide
[when asked what he thought about the John Holmes porn trial] You know, someone once asked me that a Show more [when asked what he thought about the John Holmes porn trial] You know, someone once asked me that and I said the day that Laurence Olivier drops his pants on the screen is the day that I will support adult actors, and then I saw the movie The Betsy (1978). Hide
I don't lecture and I don't grind any axes. I just want to entertain. I don't lecture and I don't grind any axes. I just want to entertain.
I realize now how very short life is, because I've got to be considered to be in the home stretch. B Show more I realize now how very short life is, because I've got to be considered to be in the home stretch. But I won't waste time on recriminations and regrets. And the same goes for my shortcomings and my own failures. Hide
They say the bad guys are more interesting to play but there is more to it than that - playing the g Show more They say the bad guys are more interesting to play but there is more to it than that - playing the good guys is more challenging because it's harder to make them interesting. Hide
[on what he thought about stars being paid $30 million per movie] I was born too soon! [on what he thought about stars being paid $30 million per movie] I was born too soon!
(On Mackenna's Gold (1969) and Marooned (1969)] They weren't very good, but they were the best that Show more (On Mackenna's Gold (1969) and Marooned (1969)] They weren't very good, but they were the best that was offered. I did not do them only for the money. I knew they weren;t worth much when I read the scripts. But as soon as I started working on them, damned if I didn't start believing in them. It just goes to prove you can't be an actor and Pauline Kael at the same time. Hide
[1987] Robert Bork wants to be a Supreme Court justice. But the record shows he has a strange idea o Show more [1987] Robert Bork wants to be a Supreme Court justice. But the record shows he has a strange idea of what justice is. He defended poll taxes and literacy tests, which kept many Americans from voting. He opposed the civil rights law that ended "whites only" signs at lunch counters. He doesn't believe the Constitution protects your privacy. Please urge your senators to vote against the Bork nomination. Because, if Robert Bork wins a seat on the Supreme Court, it will be for life. His life . . . and yours. Hide
I just do things I really enjoy. I enjoy acting. When I'm driving to the studio, I sing in the car. Show more I just do things I really enjoy. I enjoy acting. When I'm driving to the studio, I sing in the car. I love my work and my wife and my kids and my friends. And I think, "You're a lucky man, Gregory Peck, a damn lucky man." Hide
One good thing about the bad movies is that people don't remember them. Nobody ever comes up to me a Show more One good thing about the bad movies is that people don't remember them. Nobody ever comes up to me and says, 'I hated you in I Walk the Line (1970)!'. Hide
[2000] Do I think there's a glamorous male actor today? No way. [2000] Do I think there's a glamorous male actor today? No way.
[1956] Of the movies I've done, there isn't much I really like. The Gunfighter (1950), Roman Holiday Show more [1956] Of the movies I've done, there isn't much I really like. The Gunfighter (1950), Roman Holiday (1953), Twelve O'Clock High (1949) I feel were my best. Hide
I can honestly say that in twenty years of making movies I never had a part that came close to being Show more I can honestly say that in twenty years of making movies I never had a part that came close to being the real me until Atticus Finch. Hide
[on James Cagney] Now, you take a great cinema actor, in my opinion, James Cagney. He went very far. Show more [on James Cagney] Now, you take a great cinema actor, in my opinion, James Cagney. He went very far. He was very theatrical, very intense, and yet always believable. He riveted the audience's attention. His acting advice was, "Believe what you say -- say what you believe." And that says it, really. Hide
I'm not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian. I simply take part in act Show more I'm not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian. I simply take part in activities that I believe in. Hide
[when he discovered that his second wife, French journalist Veronique Peck, had passed up an opportu Show more [when he discovered that his second wife, French journalist Veronique Peck, had passed up an opportunity to interview Albert Schweitzer at a lunch hosted by Jean-Paul Sartre in order to go out on a date with Peck] You made the right choice, kiddo! Hide
[on Robert Mitchum] I had given him the role and had paid him a terrific amount of money. It was obv Show more [on Robert Mitchum] I had given him the role and had paid him a terrific amount of money. It was obvious he had the better role. I thought he would understand that, but he apparently thought he acted me off the screen. I didn't think highly of him for that. Hide
[on The Yearling (1946) in a 1967 interview] It was much too lushly done... The boy cried too much. [on The Yearling (1946) in a 1967 interview] It was much too lushly done... The boy cried too much.
People identify the Stanislavsky method with a group of actors who are physically unlike me - Marlon Show more People identify the Stanislavsky method with a group of actors who are physically unlike me - Marlon Brando, James Dean, nowadays Al Pacino, Robert De Niro. That doesn't mean a tall, lanky California actor can't use it. I do and always have. Hide
[on preferring his middle name to his first name] There's no nickname for Eldred. [on preferring his middle name to his first name] There's no nickname for Eldred.
You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might eve Show more You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might even scare you a little because sometimes that seems far beyond your reach. Then I think you have to develop a kind of resistance to rejection, and to the disappointments that are sure to come your way. Hide
[1987] I would give up everything I do and everything I have if I could make a significant differenc Show more [1987] I would give up everything I do and everything I have if I could make a significant difference in getting the nuclear arms race reversed. It is the number-one priority in my life. My work was the main thing in my life for a long time; now I'm beginning to think a little more about what the future will hold and what kind of world my kids will live in. Hide
Faith is a force, a powerful force. To me, it's been like an anchor to windward - something that's s Show more Faith is a force, a powerful force. To me, it's been like an anchor to windward - something that's seen me through troubled times and some personal tragedies and also through the good times and success and the happy times. Hide
Every script I'm offered has Cary Grant's paw prints on it. Every script I'm offered has Cary Grant's paw prints on it.
Gregory Peck is the hottest thing in town. Some say he is a second Gary Cooper. Actually, he is the Show more Gregory Peck is the hottest thing in town. Some say he is a second Gary Cooper. Actually, he is the first Gregory Peck. Hide
I am a Roman Catholic. Not a fanatic, but I practice enough to keep the franchise. I don't always ag Show more I am a Roman Catholic. Not a fanatic, but I practice enough to keep the franchise. I don't always agree with the Pope . . . there are issues that concern me, like abortion, contraception, the ordination of women . . . and others. I think the Church should open up. Hide
[on Frank Sinatra] Undeniably the title holder in the soft-touch department. [on Frank Sinatra] Undeniably the title holder in the soft-touch department.
I enjoy practicing my craft as well as I possibly can. I enjoy the work for its own sake. I enjoy practicing my craft as well as I possibly can. I enjoy the work for its own sake.
[on meeting Pope John Paul II at the White House in 1978] He impressed me more than any other man I' Show more [on meeting Pope John Paul II at the White House in 1978] He impressed me more than any other man I've ever met, and I've met a lot. My wife and I happened to be seated on one of the aisles, and the Pope came right down and he saw me and smiled. The smile was genuine, not a politician smile, the practiced smile. He shook hands with me and went on. And then [US President Jimmy Carter] said, "Hello, Gregory, what are you doing here?" and I said, "Well, Mr. President, you invited me". He said, "Just a minute"--and damned if he didn't run after the Pope, grabbing him by the arm and pulled him back. He said, "Your Excellency, this is one of our best-known, most beloved American film actors". And he looked at me, ah! There was a glimmer as if somehow he must have seen me in a movie. His eyes widened and he took me in his arms. And he sort of grabbed me by the elbow and said, "God bless you, Gregory. God bless you in your mission". And he went on. Hide
[on his 1962 Oscar-winning role in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)] I put everything I had into it - al Show more [on his 1962 Oscar-winning role in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)] I put everything I had into it - all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity. Hide
Marilyn Monroe may have been a bit of an extreme example, but she was given the best stories to suit Show more Marilyn Monroe may have been a bit of an extreme example, but she was given the best stories to suit her talents, she was stroked and cared for and treasured and treated like a little princess, treated as a valuable, talented person. What it was that led her to drink and take pills, I don't know. I don't think anyone can put it all together, but it's too easy to say that Hollywood wrung her out and exhausted her, strained her nerves and destroyed her. I think she'd have gone to pieces even sooner without the adulation and the care she received at the hands of her directors and producers and the big studios. Hide
[on gay rights] It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at Show more [on gay rights] It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all. Hide
(In 1984 Peck claimed to have been misquoted in a 1967 interview in which he said Elia Kazan was the Show more (In 1984 Peck claimed to have been misquoted in a 1967 interview in which he said Elia Kazan was the wrong director for Gentleman's Agreement (1947).) That's a misunderstanding. I don't think there could have been a better director for the film." What I meant was that he and I didn't have a rapport; emotionally, we were not on the same wave length. I don't think that I did my best work for him. If I worked with him now - as a mature man - I think I would give him everything he would want. Hide
Gregory Peck's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (56)
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