‘To Kill a Mockingbird’s’ Scout (Mary Badham) Shares Her Unique Friendship With Gregory Peck

Mary Badham, To Kill a Mockingbird — Everett Collection/Laurie Jacobson

Mary Badham was just 10 years old when she became the youngest person ever nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, for her unforgettable performance as Scout in the classic 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird. And as Mary explained on a panel at the MidSouth Nostalgia Festival in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on Thursday, June 5, she landed the role despite having no prior acting experience

Mary, now 72, was born in Birmingham, Alabama; her mother was a theatre actress. One night, the theater manager told her some movie people were looking for a child Mary’s age and coloring. Her father was hesitant, but her mother convinced him to let Mary try out: “And there I am all these years later.”

Gregory Peck won the Oscar for his portrayal of Scout’s father, Atticus Finch. “What you see up on the screen is what we got at home,” said Badham. “We were five months in production; and every weekend, I would go to the Peck house to spend time with them. I always called him Atticus; and he always called me Scout. He really became a father figure for me, he and his wife, Veronique.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Mary Badham, Gregory Peck, Phillip Alford, 1962

Mary Badham, Gregory Peck and Phillip Alford. Credit: Everett Collection

“Atticus [Peck] called frequently. ‘What are you doing, kiddo? What are you reading? How’s school?’ When you’re living in a house trailer in the middle of a field in Lochpoka, Alabama, and you pick up the phone and it’s Gregory Peck on the other end, it kind of makes your day. We had such a lovely relationship. I was with him a few weeks before he passed away. Still, when I go to LA and don’t have a place to stay, I stay with his kids.”

In 2012, Mary attended a screening of Mockingbird with President Barack Obama at the White House to mark the film’s 50th anniversary. And in 2022, Badham made her stage tour debut portraying Mrs. Dubose in the U.S. national tour of Aaron Sorkin‘s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, with Richard Thomas in the Peck role. “It was a fantastic experience,” Mary said, as her eyes light up. “When I got a laugh … when we heard people sniffling … it was so amazing.” Mary has toured the world talking about Mockingbird. Who knows where it will take her next?