Mr. Peck

The heir to one of Hollywood’s most hallowed names on the pressures of legacy

- Meg O'Rourke

Ethan Peck, the 29-year-old actor and grandson of Gregory Peck, has inherited more than his grandfather’s expressive brown eyes. Peck, who grew up in L.A. with divorced parents, has been acting since he was nine. “Familial complications” prevented him from getting close to his grandfather before his death. And though he descends from Hollywood royalty, Peck carries himself with the modest demeanor of someone being exposed to the lights and cameras for the first time.

Have the qualities that have been ascribed to Gregory Peck — modesty, moral courage, and intellectual curiosity — been passed down to you?

I love the perception of him as a man. He’s this classic gentleman. My father has that. I think I learned that from him, which was given to him by my grandfather. People think my grandfather is wonderful and amazing. They would think the same of my father. Someone asked, “Does it feel like a weight or like a burden?” I don’t feel like that at all, because there’s also a distance. I don’t do this because of him, as hard as that might be to believe.