Brian Peck continued working in Hollywood for years after his conviction.
Amid the ashes settling after the release of the ID docu-series Quiet on Set, an important question has fallen by the wayside, how in the world was Brian Peck able to continue getting work in Hollywood?
Drake Bell recounts his experiences of abuse at the hands of Brian Peck for the first time publicly on Quiet on Set, speaking of his harrowing experiences.
“Everything changed with Brian one morning... I knew that my life was going to be absolutely, completely different from that point on,”
“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep and I woke up to him … I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me, and I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
Brian’s abuse was referred to by Drake as “Extensive and brutal”, stating “This was not a one time thing” when you see the eleven counts that Brian was originally charged with, you start to wonder how this man was able to get such a horrifically short sentence.
Brian Peck was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 16 months of jail time in 2004, though according to multiple sources, Brian was in attendance at an event in August 2005, merely 10 months into his 16 month sentence and according to a comment by Drake Bell in a March 24th episode of the show La Entrevista con Yordi Rosado, Brian may have served even less time.
“And he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and I think only of which he served maybe 4″
When Brian Peck was released from prison, he was required to register as a sex offender; a title that should make it all but impossible for him to continue working in Hollywood due to the fact that there’s very little sets in Hollywood that do not have at least one child actor, but this didn’t seem to be a problem for Brian and after his release from prison; he was able to find a lot more work than you would think for someone jailed for crimes against a child.
Before I get into the acting, crew and production work Brian was able to do after he was released from prison, I find it important to mention that he was actively working on sets and filming after he was arrested and before his sentencing, first playing a bit role in the TV movie “Love Surreal” (Also called Everything You Want), a film by Ryan Little which was filmed in February of 2004, next up is the film “Lovewrecked” (2005) staring Amanda Bynes that had him as a bit role that IMDB lists as “TV Reporter #1”. This movie filmed from June 28th 2004 to August 2004, just months before Brian was sentenced in October 2004.
Love Surreal wouldn’t be the last time that Brian would work with director Ryan Little though, he would go on to work with him again on the family film Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy, a film in which he had a more prominent role, and acted alongside actor Ron Melendez who was one of many who wrote character references to the judge before Brian’s sentencing.
After this inexplicable casting in a movie made for family viewing, Brian Peck did voiceover work for The Suite life of Zack & Cody as the magical mirror that insulted London’s outfits in three episodes, two episodes in season two, and one episode in season three.
Rich and Beth Correll worked on Suite Life as director and second AD respectively for 55 episodes of the series, they had told the producers of Quiet on Set that they had no input or involvement in Brian’s casting, though it was revealed that both of them wrote letters to the judge (Beth wrote 2) for Brian before sentencing, Rich Correll‘s letter had stated that it would be a pleasure to work Brian again; Though the two claim not to have anything to do with his involvement on Suite Life, they had asked him about the case to which he simply replied that the “problem had been resolved”
Variety had confirmed that Brian was never on set and had zero interactions with the cast or crew, and once Disney Channel learned of his conviction he was terminated and the voice work he did was replaced with another voice actor.
Brian continued to work after being fired from Disney, having a bit role to play in horror film “House of Fears” (2007) directed once again, by Ryan Little, and speaking of Ryan Little, he seems to be one of Brian’s biggest fans because they work together again on the film “Forever Strong” which is a PG-13 film from 2008, a drama film about a rugby players struggles, Brian has a named character in this film according to IMDB but I was unable to verify how much screen time he had in the film.
He had other films that he worked on or appeared in, the short film “Queerantine!” where he is credited as “Sex ed teacher”, and then he’s credited as a producer (and a bit part) in the sexplotation action film “Bitchslap” (2009)
But one of the most shocking credits on his IMDB page is the one for Jack and the Beanstalk, a family movie that tells an updated story of the classic fairytale. This movie was produced by Gary DePew and stills from this films production are featured on Gary’s website.
The film stars Colin Ford, at the time of filming he would have been eleven or twelve years old, and Chloë Grace Moretz who was ten years old. This was filmed in 2007, a mere two years after Brian was released from prison and had to register as a sex offender for his crimes.
He has a bit part in the film where the joke is that his character “The Emperor” walks onto the screen without a shirt, he is blocked by a low wall so you only see him from the waist up, the joke being that he is a man who has gone outside completely nude save for the hat on his head, a disturbing joke to be making with children on the set, Colin Ford was in this scene. It is entirely possible that this scene was filmed completely separately and Brian was never actually around children while filming any of his scenes but a behind the scenes photo with Gary, Brian and the actors in the movie prove that at one point, he was around the children.
The fact that Brian Peck was not only allowed to continue working in Hollywood so quickly after his release from prison but was also able to book movies that were directed at family audiences and even had children on set during the production is heinous and that it was allowed to happen is an injustice that seems to laugh in the face of his criminal record.
His other most notable work after being released from prison was his stint as Charlie Sheen’s stand in and dialogue coach for the series Anger Management where he worked on 22 episodes. A news broadcast from SkyNews UK had mentioned that people on the crew had found out about Brian Peck’s convictions and brought it up, but were told that Sheen himself asked for Brian by name, and allegedly the decision was that since the crime was so long ago, Brian was able to stay working on set but when he was off set he would have to retire to Charlie’s trailer. Brian and Sheen became close friends, Brian name dropping him in an interview he had done around the same time, and in 2013 the pair of them went to the scottish highlands to search for The Loch Ness Monster, as you do.
Registered sex offenders like Brian Peck continuing to thrive after committing vile acts against a child should not happen and he should have been shunned by Hollywood, blackballed by the industry and been unable to continue working on sets, he should have been radioactive, but he wasn’t and continued to work for years after his crimes, largely in part due to his connections and friends within the industry.