Batman Comics used the famous Hollywood star as the model for the Dark Knight

Gregory Peck was, without a doubt, one of the greatest stars in Hollywood during the Golden Age (1940s-1960s). He had a commanding charisma and serious dramatic chops.

Peck was born in 1916 in California – Gregory was actually his middle name, preceded by Eldred. He was introduced to acting while a student at UC Berkeley and then moved to New York, appeared on Broadway and studied with the famous acting teacher Sanford Meisner. Within just a few years, Peck returned to his home on the West Coast and became a Hollywood star. He received an Academy Award nomination for only his second film, 1944’s “Keys to the Kingdom,” about a Catholic missionary in China.

Peck had a brief stint as Alfred Hitchcock’s leading man (in 1945’s “Spellbound” and 1947’s “The Paradine Case”) and enjoyed continuous work over the following decades. However, his most remembered role did not come until 1962: Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, adapted from Harper Lee’s novel. Atticus, the father of protagonist Scout, is a Depression-era lawyer in Alabama who defends Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white woman. Peck continued acting even as he grew older and Hollywood changed. He starred in Richard Donner’s 1976 horror film The Omen, adding a touch of suspense to the film.

For the sake of this piece, the part that most resembles Beck’s Batman is in the original “Cape Fear.” He plays Sam Bowden, the lawyer who helped put rapist Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) away. Eight years later, Cady is free and out for revenge. The film reaches its climax when Bowden holds Cady at gunpoint, urging him to eliminate him. Bowden rejects a lengthy, vindictive letter, saying that such quick retaliation would be too easy compared to Cuddy rotting in prison.

He took the words straight from Batman’s mouth.