Born 100 years ago on April 5, 1916, the Oscar-winning Hollywood icon Gregory Peck embodied both gloomy and inspiring characters.
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10 defining roles of the legendary actor Gregory Peck
Born 100 years ago on April 5, 1916, the great Hollywood icon Gregory Peck embodied both gloomy and inspiring characters, always playing the part in wildly diverse roles.
Image: picture alliance/United Archives/IFTN
'Days of Glory'
The first 10 years of his acting career were on stage. Then came Gregory Peck's feature debut in 1943, at the age of 27. In the movie "Days of Glory," directed by Jacques Tourneur, the handsome actor shined as the leader of a Soviet guerrilla group fighting against the Nazis invading Russia in 1941.
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'Spellbound'
His fourth film pushed him up the A-list of Hollywood movie stars. Alfred Hitchcock highlighted Gregory Peck's enigmatic features in "Spellbound" (1945). Starring along with Ingrid Bergman, Peck depicted a director of a psychiatric hospital with psychological problems of his own.
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'The Paradine Case'
Two years later, he reunited with Hitchcock for the film noir "The Paradine Case," which tells the story of a lawyer (Gregory Peck) who becomes infatuated with his client, the enigmatic Mrs. Paradine (Alida Valli). This was a perfect role for Peck, accentuating both his elegance and dark intensity.
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'Yellow Sky'
In the initial phase of his film career, Gregory Peck often starred in Westerns. In movies such as "Yellow Sky," with Anne Baxter, he embodied the silent, cool, yet assertive and charismatic hero.
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'Captain Horatio Hornblower'
On top of several melodramas and Westerns, Gregory Peck also starred in adventure films. "Captain Horatio Hornblower" (1951) was directed by one of his favorite filmmakers, Raoul Walsh. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Peck gloriously donned the uniform of a British Royal Navy captain.
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'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'
The 1950s were the glory days of the Hollywood melodrama - often ambitious and expensive productions. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952), an adaptation of a Hemingway story, was shot in Nairobi, Cairo and the French Riviera. Gregory Peck played a disillusioned writer on safari in Africa.
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'Roman Holiday'
He didn't always have to be dark to shine. In "Roman Holiday" (1953), Gregory Peck formed a dream couple with Audrey Hepburn and demonstrated he was just as charming in romantic comedies.
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'Moby Dick'
One of his most famous roles came in 1956 with "Moby Dick," directed by John Huston. As the wounded and dark Captain Ahab, Peck went hunting for the legendary great white whale.
Gregory Peck embodied Atticus Finch in the 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." He received the Best Actor Oscar for his depiction of the lawyer with strong morals.
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A second 'Moby Dick'
The 1998 television miniseries based on Herman Melville classic "Moby Dick" allowed him to revisit one of his greatest successes for his last role in his career. Playing this time Father Mapple, he won a Golden Globe Award for his performance. Gregory Peck died in 2003 in Los Angeles, at the age of 87.
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Many fans remember him for his Oscar-winning performance in the movie version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1963, where he embodied the lawyer Atticus Finch.
Although just 46 at the time of the movie's release, Gregory Peck had already collected an impressive series of great film roles.
The hero of several classic Westerns, including "Duel in the Sun" (1946) and "The Gunfighter" (1950), he also played the lead in great adventure films and established himself as something of an action hero. His versatility as an actor meant he was just as impressive in melodramas as in comedies.
In the adaptation of Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," Peck left action behind for the role of the leading man - a bet that paid off when just a year later he appeared as Audrey Hepburn's love interest in the romance, "Roman Holiday."
The actor was a favorite among Hollywood's great directors such as Wiliam Wyler, Elia Kazan or John Huston and played in two Alfred Hitchcock films.
As we raise our glasses to Gregory Peck on what would be his centennial birthday, let's take a look back at some of the actor's most unforgettable roles.
