Film success
After gaining popularity for his starring role in Edge of Darkness, Peck began appearing in films. After a few theatre appearances, Peck made his first appearance as a main character in a film again playing a policeman, John Graham, based in Kenya in 1950, who takes under his wing the son of a murdered black priest in the 1987 film The Kitchen Toto. He also appeared in the 1987 film On the Black Hill, adapted from the 1982 novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. The role which really launched his career as a film actor was his portrayal of the android Byron, in the post-apocalyptic science-fiction adventure film Slipstream (1989), in which he appeared alongside Mark Hamill, Bill Paxton, F. Murray Abraham, Ben Kingsley and Robbie Coltrane. During the late 1980s, he also appeared in television shows including The Storyteller, The Jim Henson Hour and Screen One.
Peck also voiced all the male characters in the children's live action TV series combined with stop motion animation, Forget Me Not Farm on the BBC in 1990.
Peck's image and popularity increased with appearances in films including the 1990 film Lord of the Flies as the (unnamed) marine officer. He also appeared in Screen Two, Screenplay and A TV Dante, as well as in the television films, The Black Velvet Gown and An Ungentlemanly Act. In 1993, Peck made his biggest film appearance, when he was cast as park gamekeeper Robert Muldoon in the blockbuster smash hit Jurassic Park.
After appearing in Jurassic Park, Peck appeared in the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993) playing General Targo in one episode. He also played Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi in Verdi, a television film documenting the life of the composer.
