James Marsden, Several Actors Sent Support Letters For Drake Bell's Abuser Brian Peck
James Marsden, Taran Killam and Alan Thicke were among the many actors who defended Drake Bell's abuser, Brian Peck, after his arrest that led to a conviction.
The names of the Hollywood figures who sent letters to a judge in support of the Nickelodeon acting coach were unveiled in Investigation Discovery's four-part docuseries, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV."
Peck was arrested in 2003 and convicted of child sexual abuse the following year. He was ordered to register as a sex offender.
In episodes 3 and 4 of the docuseries, Bell revealed that he was the child actor involved in the case as he spoke out for the first time about being sexually abused by Peck at 15 years old.
According to the doc, 41 people wrote letters of support for Peck before he was sentenced to 16 months in jail in October 2004. In addition to Marsden, Killam, and Thicke, these supporters also included "General Hospital" actor Ron Melendez, Joanna Kerns, and "Boy Meets World" stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong.
Many of the letters -- which were unsealed following a petition by one of the docuseries' producers -- vouched for Peck's integrity and asked for leniency from the judge.
It's unclear what they were told about Peck's actions, Business Insider reported.
One of Peck's most notable supporters was Marsden, who wrote in his letter he had known Peck since he was a teenager.
"I assure you, what Brian has been through in the last year is the suffering of a hundred men," Marsden told the judge, as seen in a copy of his letter published by the outlet.
The "Jury Duty" star went on to claim that Peck had "learned his lesson."
"I have lived at his house for months and shared hotel rooms with him and never once did he ever make me feel compromised or uncomfortable in any way," Marsden wrote. "I don't know what it would take to have something like this occur, but whatever it is, it is extremely out of character for Brian."
In his own letter to the judge, Killam, who worked with Bell on "The Amanda Show" and "Drake & Josh," called Peck "one of my dearest friends" and described his arrest as "too out of character."
The "Saturday Night Live" star also insisted that Peck "regrets any mistakes made" and would not repeat them.
Meanwhile, Melendez claimed that he noticed "problems" in the behavior of Bell, who was referred to as "John Doe" at the time, and his family.
"I saw him pursue a friendship with Brian, maintain their close ties; saw his parents cede more and more of their parental duties to Brian," Melendez wrote of Bell, according to the outlet.
"Brian made a large mistake, but it was not his alone," the actor added.
Thicke and Kerns, both of whom worked with Peck on "Growing Pains," praised the dialogue coach's work with the children on the set of the sitcom.
Kerns insisted that "there was never a second of doubt about his appropriateness with the children he worked with."
Marsden, Killam, Melendez, and Kerns have not publicly addressed the letters as of this writing. Thicke passed away in 2016.
Friedle, meanwhile, wrote in his letter that Peck was "a man of integrity and honor" and described his arrest and conviction as "a case of a very good person slipping."
Strong echoed his sentiments, claiming in his letter that "maliciousness is so antithetical" to Peck's nature.
Last month, Friedle and Strong claimed on their podcast, "Pod Meets World," that at the time, they "bought" Peck's story that he had been manipulated and taken advantage of by a younger person.
Strong said they were not aware that Peck was being charged with several crimes and did not realize how serious the case was until they showed up in court to support the dialogue coach.
"We're sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything," Friedle said. "I just sat there wanting to die."
Addressing the letters they wrote in support of Peck, Friedle said, "We weren't told the whole story, but it doesn't change the fact that we did it."
Bell opened up about the support Peck received from entertainment industry insiders on "Quiet on Set."
"On the day of sentencing for Brian, I get to the courthouse. It was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. His entire side of the courtroom was full. There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room, and my side was me, my mom, and my brother,” Bell said.
"Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" is available to stream on Max.
