Badham recalls her time as ‘Scout,’ working with Gregory Peck

Mary Badham was a local actress working at a theater in Birmingham, Ala., when its manager told her that a major film was being planned in Hollywood, and they were searching for a young girl to play a key role.

At that point, thousands had auditioned, but none were selected. Auditions were to be held at that theater, and he thought her daughter, also named Mary, would be perfect for the part. There was only one problem, the mother said.

“She’s never acted. She knows nothing about acting,” the mother said. “Besides her father [Henry] won’t let her do it anyway.”

Despite that, she eventually convinced her husband to let the younger Mary audition for the part on the premise that “what are the chances she’ll get it anyway?”

Against long odds the younger Mary was cast as Scout in the film adaptation of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” she told Talk Business & Politics. It was the first acting role she ever had at any level, and she earned an Academy Award nomination for Supporting Actress at the age of 10 — the youngest person ever nominated at the time.

“It was really fun. I had a blast on the set,” she said. “I looked forward to getting up and going to work every day.”

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was set in a small Alabama town in the 1930s, and based on the book written by Harper Lee. The gripping story centered around a Black man, Tom Robinson, who was charged with raping a white woman. A trial is held, and Scout’s father, Atticus Finch is the accused man’s lawyer, and was played by actor Gregory Peck. Peck and Badham developed a deep connection during the filming and on weekends she stayed with his family while they filmed in California.

“We formed a bond that lasted the rest of his life … he was just a lovely man. He was thoughtful, smart, well-educated and well-mannered. I think who he was as a person really comes across on screen,” she said.

Badham thinks there were a number of factors that led to her selection for the part. Her haircut at the time was a 1930s style, she had a southern accent and she was familiar with southern culture. She understood attitudes among people in the south and it wasn’t just a script; it was her life at the time.

A lot of the story is told from the perspective of Scout. It’s clear that Robinson is innocent of the charge. He had a mangled arm that would have prevented him from committing the crime. But deep racial prejudices were pervasive in the fictional town of Maycomb. Despite a powerful defense by Finch, the man is convicted and sent to prison where he dies after trying to escape.

Badham said she didn’t participate in any of the iconic court scenes and wasn’t given a full script. During filming, she had no clue the social impacts the story had.

“I didn’t know the full story until I watched the movie,” she said.

The movie was nominated for a slew of Academy Awards including wins for Best Picture and Peck winning Best Actor. Badham said she then had no clue what the Academy Awards were, but looking back she said she feels honored to have her work recognized.

After the movie, Badham would play several characters in different movies and television shows. There was one special person who went with her to each of those sets — her teacher Helen Grotke.

Children and teens playing roles in movies and television shows often missed a lot of school to film those parts, and they had teachers assigned to help keep the actors on schedule with schoolwork. Often, they’d get new teachers during different film shoots, but Badham’s mother was able to get Grotke for each of her daughter’s filming sessions.

“She [Grotke] and I … we saw the world the same way,” Badham said. “She would always tell you what you needed to hear. She was lovely.”

Badham played one of the main characters in the very last episode of the original “Twilight Zone” titled the “Bewitching Pool.” She played Sport Sharewood, who along with her brother, is transported to another simpler world by diving through a portal in their family swimming pool. She had to take weeks of diving and swimming lessons to prepare for the role, she said. Television shows are much faster paced, and you only have one or two days to complete the shoot, she said.

Badham isn’t the only person in her family that has experienced Hollywood success. Her brother, John Badham, directed many movies including “Saturday Night Fever,” “WarGames,” “Short Circuit,” and “Stakeout” among others.

Although she continues to act in plays to this very day, Badham knows she is mostly remembered for her iconic role as Scout. She doesn’t run from it; she said she has embraced it.

That role has led her all over the country and world talking about the movie, its social implications, the actors she worked with and every other aspect the film entailed.

“It’s such an honor to be a part of Mockingbird. It has all of life’s lessons in one, little book. It’s a beautiful piece of work … it was my life’s work,” she said.