Gregory Peck is one of the biggest actors in Hollywood history, starring in iconic films like Roman Holiday and To Kill a Mockingbird. His prolific career ran from 1941, when he made his debut in the play The Doctor's Dilemma, to 1998, when he retired from acting after appearing in the miniseries Moby Dick. Five years later, he died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87 in 2003. While Peck lives on through his prolific performances that generation after generation have come to watch, now, there's another way his legacy is continuing. His grandson, Ethan Peck, is following in his footsteps. The actor has already taken on some major TV roles, and he's got more where they came from. To see where you might've seen Gregory Peck's lookalike grandson before and where you might see him next, read on.
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Gregory Peck's 35-year-old grandson, Ethan Peck, is a successful TV actor.
Getty Images/Rodin Eckenroth/WireImageNow that you see the resemblance, it's probably hard for you to believe you might've missed Ethan Peck on your screen before. But the 35-year-old has appeared in a long list of notable roles: He played a younger version of George Clooney in 2020's The Midnight Sky, and he's starring as a young Spock on the show Star Trek: Discoveryand the forthcoming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
He also appeared on popular series like That '70s Show, Gossip Girl, Madam Secretary, and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. His big break was on the TV adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You in 2009, but his screen debut was years earlier on the 1995 CBS series Charlie Grace.
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Ethan doesn't want to be compared to his grandfather.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesEthan may have inherited his grandfather's dashing looks and acting skills, but the two never discussed the business together. In 2010, Ethan told People that Gregory "was just grandpa" to him before he died when the young actor was 17. "I don’t recall ever having a conversation with him about acting," Ethan said of his grandfather. "I have so many questions for him now."
In 2019, Ethan told CBS's Watch! magazine that although some part of him always knew his grandfather was special, it was "sort of difficult to fathom who he was and what he meant to people." He added: "I haven't even seen all his films, and it's sort of crazy to be at a video store and be like, 'Oh hey, there's his face!' It's weird."
Ethan also said he doesn't like the comparisons people draw between him and his grandpa. "With all due respect, I don't want to compare myself. I want to be the best I can be. I have a deeply competitive nature—my dad says that's true of all the Pecks," the actor said.
Ethan wasn't very close with his grandfather.
ShutterstockEthan said he didn't decide to go into acting because of his grandfather. "I don't do this because of him, as hard as that might be to believe," he told Maxim. "The truth is I didn't feel that close to him," Ethan told Watch! "Unfortunately, there wasn't that much opportunity. So I don't feel that connected to him."
He went on to add that he is, however, close with his own father, Stephen Peck, Gregory's oldest living son. Though Stephen isn't in the industry—he's the president and CEO of U.S. VETS, an organization seeking to end veteran homelessness in the U.S.—he has taught his son a lot of the Peck ways. "I do feel deeply connected to my father, and I think from him I've inherited the qualities that Gregory Peck is famous for," said Ethan.
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He's also felt the pressure of living up to other actors who've played his roles before.
CBS Media VenturesEthan has had huge shoes to fill throughout his career, and not only his grandfather's. His big break, as Patrick Verona on the 10 Things I Hate About You TV series, had him playing the part that made fans fall in love with the late Heath Ledger. When asked if he was nervous to play the role at the time, he told People, "I never felt any pressure to fill his shoes. I’m doing my own thing, and he did his own thing—awesomely."
But his latest project did have his stomach in knots. Ethan told Watch! that he didn't know he was auditioning to play young Spock when his agent sent him on an audition for a mystery role. Once he learned what the role was, he said, "I think I then had a full panic attack." Then, when he found out he landed the iconic role, Ethan said, "I had to sit down on the curb, and I was in tears. ... I was so overwhelmed and so grateful. And then there was a part of me that was afraid because of the responsibility [of playing Spock]. There were a lot of feelings rushing in."
Clearly, he's pulling it off because he'll reprise his role as young Spock on the upcoming Paramount+ spinoff Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which he just finished filming last month.
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