Gregory Peck: Roles He Missed That Other Actors Made Famous

Hollywood legend has it that as early as 1946, Orson Welles, the radio voice of “The Shadow,” dreamed of directing a Batman movie, starring Gregory Peck. It could have been the role Peck missed that made other actors famous – because the film never happened.

Comic Book Resources, a website dedicated to coverage of comic book-related news and discussion, said the Welles’ Batman was a comic book urban legend that’s as fun to debunk as Welles’ own “War of the Worlds” story.

Batman or no Batman, there were roles Peck missed through his career that made other actors famous:

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The Beleaguered Sheriff in “High Noon”
In 1952, just after the box office failure of “The Gunfighter,” Peck turned down the role of the sheriff in “High Noon” because he didn’t want to do another Western, his biographer said in “Gregory Peck: A Biography.” The role earned Gary Cooper an Oscar. “Greg conceded that he might have made a mistake with that one,” author Gary Fishgail wrote.

The Ad Exec in “North by Northwest”
Since Peck was one of their contract actors, MGM wanted director Alfred Hitchcock to offer him the lead in 1959’s “North by Northwest,” author Leonard Leff said in his book, “Hitchcock and Selznick: The Rich and Strange Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick in Hollywood.” Hitchcock cast Cary Grant instead as the hapless New York advertising executive mistaken for a government agent. Grant was already a star. He said the role came naturally. “I’ve often been accused by the critics of being myself on the screen,” author Graham McCann recounts in “Cary Grant: A Class Apart.” “But being oneself is more difficult that you’d suppose.”

The Leading Man in “How to Steal a Million”
By 1966, director William Wyler wanted to reteam his 1953 “Roman Holiday” stars Peck and Audrey Hepburn in another romantic comedy. But the role went to Peter O’Toole.

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The roles Peck did get were ones with moral fiber, The New York Times said in his 2003 obituary. His most memorable role, the Times noted, was as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film “To Kill a Mockingbird,” for which he won an Academy Award.

Related Stories:

• The 5 Roles That Defined Gregory Peck’s Career
• Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch: 5 Quotes About Iconic Role