A leading man most of his career, as well as an Oscar winner for Best Actor in 1963’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Gregory Peck did not play many supporting roles until later on in his 54-year career. Two of those supporting roles, ironically, were in remakes of films in which he originally played the lead.
Here's a look at Peck in some of his most notable supporting roles.
1. "Moby Dick" (1998)
Starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab, the television miniseries of "Moby Dick" featured Peck in the supporting role of Father Mapple.
Peck played Ahab – Herman Melville's famously obsessed sea captain hell-bent on killing the great white whale that claimed his leg – in the 1956 film version of "Moby Dick" directed by John Huston.
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Legendary actor-director Orson Welles originally played Father Mapple, the whaler turned preacher.
2. "Cape Fear" (1991)
In Peck’s final appearance in a feature film, the actor revisited familiar territory with "Cape Fear." It was director Martin Scorsese's remake of the 1962 thriller about a lawyer (Peck) and his family being threatened by an ex-con (Robert Mitchum) he put behind bars.
Peck and Mitchum appeared in cameos in the chilling remake, and ironically, in somewhat a reversal of roles: Peck played the ex-con Max Cady's (Robert De Niro) lawyer, while Mitchum appeared as a police lieutenant. Nick Nolte assumed the role of Sam Bowden, whom Peck played in the 1962 original.
3. "Amazing Grace and Chuck" (1987)
While Peck plays the U.S. president in "Amazing Grace and Chuck," he's delegated as a supporting player to the title characters: Chuck (Joshua Zuehlke), a Little League baseball player who says he will stop playing the game until the country's nuclear weapons are disarmed, and NBA star "Amazing" Grace Smith (Alex English), who hears of the youngster's cause and benches himself in support of it. Their protest eventually warrants enough attention for the president to meet with Chuck.
A review from The New York Times said the film was the "end of a cycle of nuclear anxiety films" including "Testament," "The Day After," and "Threads."
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