The co-star who saw Audrey Hepburn’s star quality before everyone else
Contrary to what Breakfast at Tiffany’s might have you believe, Audrey Hepburn was not an obvious future movie star when she landed in Hollywood.
Tall, thin, and with angular features, she was a far cry from voluptuous blondes who were taking the box office by storm in the 1950s. But she was used to being underestimated. After training as a ballerina, she switched to acting when she was told she was too tall to make it as a dancer. When she landed her first leading role in a Broadway production of Gigi, the producers were so appalled by her lack of experience that they tried to fire her multiple times.
By the time she’d earned rave reviews for the play, she must have realised that none of those nay-sayers knew what they were talking about. Still, the prospect of carrying an entire Hollywood film must have been daunting. She had done a screen test for a producer by way of an audition for William Wyler’s film Roman Holiday, and although she had no reason to believe that she would get the part, she caught the attention of the right person.
Wyler, who directed such hits as Jezebel, Mrs Miniver, and Ben-Hur, had envisioned Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Princess Anne, a monarch from an unnamed European country who falls in love with an American newspaperman while on a state visit to Rome. When he saw Hepburn’s screen test, though, he decided that she was perfect for the part.
It’s one thing for a director to decide that a completely unknown actor is going to star in his movie, but it’s another thing entirely to find a leading man who will agree to star opposite her. Major stars want to appear opposite other major stars in order to boost their profile. Agreeing to star alongside a nobody is tantamount to a demotion. But Gregory Peck was more than happy to do it, and as soon as he met Hepburn, any doubts he might have had were quickly put to rest.
By all accounts, the production was a happy one. Far from the constraints and oversight of the studio, the cast and crew could frolic through the streets of Rome with abandon. Hepburn later called it “one of the loveliest experiences of my life,” while Peck said, “I think it was the happiest experience I ever had on a movie set.” Eddie Albert, who played Peck’s friend in the film, said that it had been so enjoyable to work on that he didn’t want to take the salary he earned.
Peck was a major star. He’d already earned four Oscar nominations and was one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors. His contract on the film gave him top billing, but as the production progressed, he began to feel less and less comfortable with that arrangement. He recognised that they had a future star on their hands, and he didn’t want to look like the prima donna who insisted that her name be below his on the poster. When he told his agent that Hepburn needed to be put next to his above the title, he was told that that just wasn’t done. But Peck persisted, saying, “You’ve got to change that because she’ll be a big star and I’ll look like a big jerk.”
He won the argument, and Hepburn got star billing even though it was her first Hollywood film and first starring role in a movie. History, of course, is on Peck’s side. Everyone fell in love with Hepburn when they saw Roman Holiday, and she ended up winning the Oscar for it. From the moment the movie was released, no one doubted that she had been a star all along.
