Investigation Discovery’s Nickelodeon docuseries includes a surprising mention of Leonardo DiCaprio.
During the third part of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which will air on Monday, March 18, Drake Bell breaks his silence about being the child star who accused dialogue coach Brian Peck of sexual assault. Drake, 37, and his father, Joe Bell, were both interviewed about their history with Peck, 63, and the subsequent trial.
Joe, who managed Drake’s career when he started working at Nickelodeon, recalled his initial introduction to Peck.
“I was told that Brian was a good coach and he could really get Drake some jobs,” Joe told the cameras. “[People told me], ‘He worked with Leonardo DiCaprio. He worked with this person and that person.’”
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In a separate confessional, Drake said he met Peck as soon as he moved over to the Nick on Sunset set from Paramount Studios, adding, “He got along with everyone and everyone got along with him. He had been working in the industry for a very long time. … He seemed like any other nice coworker at that point.”
Drake’s father noted that it didn’t take long for him to question Peck’s intentions.
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“Everything seemed OK in the beginning, but I was always within eye distance of them,” he explained. “I was very attentive. All the other parents would be seen and not heard. I would never interrupt but I very rarely sat in the green room. I always sat somewhere where I could keep my eyes on Drake.”
Joe said Peck’s interactions with Drake “didn’t sit well” with him.
“Drake would be in the dressing room and in would pop Brian. He would just touch Drake or do things where I [would think], ‘Wait a second. Drake can put that on himself.’ And the thing is, this is in front of people,” he recalled. “Then he would walk over to Drake and maybe be feeding him some lines and have his arm around his waist or his hand up on his shoulder and kind of run it down his arm. This would happen routinely. It was just always uncomfortable.”
The docuseries subsequently played archival footage of Peck and DiCaprio, now 49, on the set of Growing Pains. The show, which ran from 1985 to 1992, featured Peck in various small roles while DiCaprio played a homeless teen in the final season.
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“Leo as you know is the latest, hottest, hunkiest teen idol there is,” Peck said in the clip before the then-teen DiCaprio flashed his muscles at the camera. (DiCaprio has not publicly addressed his past interactions with Peck or Peck’s legal issues.)
Joe referenced the footage in his confessional, saying, “I saw this video of Brian Peck on Growing Pains with Leonardo DiCaprio grabbing his shoulders and running [his hand] down his arm. That’s the kind of behavior I saw him with my son. The same freaking behavior.”
Despite attempts to report Peck to production, Joe claimed he was “ostracized.” He said he “backed off” for the sake of his son’s career.
In 2003, Peck was accused of molesting a child. He spent 16 months in prison after being convicted of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16. According to unsealed court documents shown in the docuseries, Peck received letters of support from several Growing Pains stars including Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns. In a statement to ID, Kerns, 71, stated that she “never would have written” the letter had she known the “complete misinformation” that was provided to her.
The identity of the child in the case against Peck remained anonymous at the time. Drake has since come forward as the person who reported Peck to the authorities. He addressed his experience for the first time in the docuseries.
“The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal. I really don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera,” he said. “Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you think of the worst stuff someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault and that will answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it. It was not a one-time thing.”
