Gregory Peck quotes

Gregory Peck was an American actor acclaimed for his powerful performances and dignified presence on screen. His role as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" became iconic and earned him an Academy Award. He remains celebrated as one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men and a symbol of integrity in film. Here are 21 of his quotes:

I'm not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian. I simply take part in activities that I believe in. (Gregory Peck)
Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life. View quote
Gregory Peck
Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember? View quote
Gregory Peck
I put everything I had into it - all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity. View quote
Gregory Peck
Entertainment is all right, but entertainment with an idea behind it is much more important. View quote
Gregory Peck
I hold no brief for Communists, but I believe in and will defend their right to act independently within the law. I question whether members of the committee are interested in defending our form of government or whether they are attempting to suppress political opinion at odds with their own. View quote
Gregory Peck
It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all. View quote
Gregory Peck
I don't think I could stay interested for a couple of months in a character of mean motivation. View quote
Gregory Peck
They say the bad guys are more interesting to play but there is more to it than that - playing the good guys is more challenging because it's harder to make them interesting. View quote
Gregory Peck
If I have to tell him who I am, then I'm not. View quote
Gregory Peck
I think I should have been more ferocious in pursuit of the whale, more cruel to the crew, and I think I'd have a better grasp now of what Melville was talking about. Ahab focused all his energies on avenging himself against the whale, but he was trying to penetrate the mystery of why we are here at all, why there is anything. I wasn't mad enough, not crazy enough, not obsessive enough. I should have done more. ... At the time, I didn't have more in me. (Gregory Peck)
There is no doubt that the princess did become a queen---not only on the screen. One of the most loved, one of the most skillful, one of the most intelligent, one of the most sensitive, charming actresses---and friends, in my life---but also in the later stages of her life, the UNICEF ambassador to the children of the world. The generosity, sensitivity, the nobility of her service to the children of the world and the mothers of the world will never be forgotten. View quote
Gregory Peck
There we were, hundreds of us lined up, waving at the great man as he tipped his hat to us. And that is the extent of my acquaintance with Albert Einstein. View quote
Gregory Peck
If these Mount Everests of the financial world are going to labor and bring forth still more pictures with people being blown to bits with bazookas and automatic assault rifles with no gory detail left unexploited, if they are going to encourage anxious, ambitious actors, directors, writers and producers to continue their assault on the English language by reducing the vocabularies of their characters to half a dozen words, with one colorful but overused Anglo-Saxon verb and one unbeautiful Anglo-Saxon noun covering just about every situation, then I would like to suggest that they stop and think about this: making millions is not the whole ball game, fellows. Pride of workmanship is worth more. Artistry is worth more. View quote
Gregory Peck
I don't lecture and I don't grind any axes. I just want to entertain. View quote
Gregory Peck
You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might even scare you a little because sometimes that seems far beyond your reach. Then I think you have to develop a kind of resistance to rejection, and to the disappointments that are sure to come your way. View quote
Gregory Peck
Inside of all the makeup and the character and makeup, it's you, and I think that's what the audience is really interested in... you, how you're going to cope with the situation, the obstacles, the troubles that the writer put in front of you. View quote
Gregory Peck
What did I do in high school? I grew from 5 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 2 inches. View quote
Gregory Peck
I had that stubborn streak, the Irish in me I guess. View quote
Gregory Peck
I never liked the name Eldred. Since nobody knew me in New York, I just changed to my middle name. View quote
Gregory Peck
You have to dream, you have to have a vision, and you have to set a goal for yourself that might even scare you a little because sometimes that seems far beyond your reach. (Gregory Peck)