Trekkie family welcomes Peck

The grandson of Hollywood legend Gregory Peck, Ethan Peck admits he didn’t boldly go where Leonard Nimoy walked 50 years ago as Mr Spock.

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Having famed actor Gregory Peck as your grandfather would come with a fair few bragging rights, but Ethan Peck struggled in his early years to escape from the shadow of the Hollywood icon.

Peck, who plays Spock in the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Discovery, says it took a journey of self-discovery to understand he didn’t need to fight to get out of his grandfather’s shadow.

The older Peck was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars for decades, and picked up five Oscar nominations for his work, eventually winning one in 1963 for his portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Ethan Peck plays Spock in the new season of Star Trek: Discovery. Picture: Getty

“When I was younger I think like I felt like I wanted to reject it, like ‘no, I’m my own man’,” he tells Insider.

“It’s not up to me to control how other people perceive me, all I can do is be myself, which is all I know how to do, really, and learn to embrace who am I am and where I’ve come from.”

After breaking from those self-imposed shackles, Peck came to the realisation that it was actually a gift to have had such an industry titan so close to him growing up.

“That was a huge lesson that I learned throughout my twenties and now I just feel ‘how amazing’, what an incredible situation and context to be born into and of all the legends I could have been born from, that it’s him … I just feel really lucky.”

Gregory Peck and novelist Harper Lee on the set of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. Picture: Bettmann/CORBIS

The 32-year-old sees parallels between his grandfather and Spock.

“He played such dignified and noble characters that really gave such a great example for humanity and I’ve come to the realisation that Spock is that on a lot of levels,” he says.

“He’s such a humanist and really teaches us about ourselves, and I’d love to continue playing roles like that.”

When Peck first stepped up to be a part of Star Trek: Discovery’s second season, he didn’t know what character he was auditioning for.

The whole process took about a month and it wasn’t until the final call back that the bombshell was dropped.

Leonard Nimoy was the original Mr Spock.

Even after that lengthy process, Peck wasn’t convinced he would land the role and was happy he’d just made it that far along.

“After I did it — through which I had a panic attack — I thought to myself ‘even if I don’t get this, what a win to have brushed wings with this character and with this world’,” he says.

But it wasn’t long before casting director Orly Sitowitz sent him a text message that would change his career — “Welcome aboard Mr Spock”.

“I was on the corner of a sidewalk near my apartment and sat down and cried for like 15 minutes because I was so overwhelmed,” Peck laughs.

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Taking on such an iconic role comes with a certain level of responsibility. Trekkies are some of the most dedicated fans on the planet and the last thing you want to do is upset them.

So does that add a lot of pressure for Peck?

“Hell yeah it does,” he laughs. “Ultimately I want to be liked and I hope people respond to him and they see truth in him and I certainly feel that is my experience of portraying him.

“I really hope I’m accepted and embraced by at least some faction of the world and of the audience.”

While there have been a few Spocks over the years in different incarnations of the show, it was Leonard Nimoy who Peck looked to for inspiration — not least because he is the younger version of that character.

“I’m a big fan of the Star Trek movies with Zachary Quinto but that’s an alternate universe Spock so I was really heavily focused on Nimoy’s Spock,” he says.

Ethan Peck as Spock in Star Trek: Discovery.

It was only recently that Peck had considered giving up acting altogether. The actor had set high expectations of himself at a young age and things weren’t running on the timeline he had hoped for.

“About a year ago I was like maybe I won’t be (acting any more) — I just had so much self-doubt and uncertainty and didn’t really have a north star,” he says.

“Now I just feel available and I feel ready to take on challenges and ready to let go of my ego.”

While he was disappointed his grand plans for superstardom didn’t materialise at the time, looking back now he sees it as a blessing.

“I really was hoping to make it big, as it were, 10 years ago but thank goodness I didn’t because I had so much to overcome within myself,” he says.

“I feel like I’m just learning how to act and it will hopefully be a long career and journey as an artist because I think it takes a long time to get to know one’s self.”

Star Trek: Discovery will be available to stream on Netflix from January 18