#OnThisDay 1974: Barry Norman sat down with Gregory Peck to discuss politics, To Kill A Mockingbird and the secret of film acting. | BBC Archive

Gregory Peck was admired not only for his acting but also for his real-life toughness. Known for performing his own fight scenes, he rarely used stunt doubles. While filming Cape Fear in 1962, his co-star Robert Mitchum revealed that Peck accidentally landed a full-force punch during their climactic fight. Mitchum said he felt it for days and joked, “I don’t feel sorry for anyone dumb enough to pick a fight with him,” a line that only strengthened Peck’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s toughest

Gregory Peck tells an anecdote from the set of “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962). As far as I am aware, Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird” is not strictly autobiographical but is heavily inspired by her own experiences growing up in the racially segregated South. The character of Scout Finch reflects aspects of Lee's childhood, and the fictional town of Maycomb is modeled after her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. The novel's exploration of racial injustice and moral growth mirrors events and so