Josh Peck: A little bit of chaos can bring you to a better place in your life

Actor Josh Peck is every inch the product of the US child fame machine. Regularly appearing across Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon channels during the late Nineties and early Noughties, the child actor became a household name as part of on-screen double act Drake & Josh. The role saw him play a geek alongside Drake Parker, in the spin-off from The Amanda Show. Fast forward to 2021 and it’s safe to say the years have been kind to Peck. Playing the lead in the new Disney+ reboot of Turner & Hooch, Peck, 34, graduates from slapstick comedic stereotypes to an altogether more considered field of acting.

A continuation of the 1989 movie made famous by Tom Hanks and his canine companion, the TV adaptation skips a generation with Peck stepping into the shoes of US Marshal Scott Turner Jr, son of the original Detective Scott Turner.

Peck remembers being won over in the audition: “They said, ‘OK, you’re going to have five scenes, and they’re actually going to bring a real dog’. They also said to be ready to improvise because the creators of the show know that with a dog, it’s never going to be precise. “Immediately I was like, ‘I’m working with smart people’. And while it sounds simple, there are going to be plenty of people who would have been like, ‘The dog needs to have this look exactly at this moment and we don’t have the shot’. Our bosses were like, ‘If the dog looks cute and gets close to what we want and you guys can handle it, we’re in business’.”

It’s a view seconded by Peck’s co-star, Glee’s Vanessa Lengies, who plays Erica Mouniere, a Marshal K-9 facility trainer.

“I would say working with the dogs made me a better actress. It definitely made me a better listener,” says Lengies, 36.

“You’re coming to the set with your plan of how you think the scene is going to go or how it was written on the page and the dog might have a different idea of what they want. I loved eventually getting to the point where I would come to the set, throw my own acting plan away, and just see what was there already with this dog.”

Turner Jr is usually found chasing criminals with his partner Jessica (Carra Patterson) who is 10 weeks away from giving birth. The pair are at the top of their crime fighting game. Turner Jr is a man who prides himself on punctuality, routine and results, but his usually ordered life is suddenly turned upside down when Hooch — his father’s beloved French mastiff, is bestowed on him.

With Turner Jr’s attention temporarily diverted thanks to his chaotic companion, the Marshal finds himself at the centre of a catastrophic mishap in the line of duty. “I certainly think a little bit of chaos is a) unavoidable and b) can usually bring you to an even better place in your life if you handle it well and embrace it,” says Peck.

“I’ve found in my own life, resistance is usually what brings me the most discomfort. So when I just welcome it — like welcoming a gigantic French mastiff into my life, with all the drool and accoutrement to follow — is when some pretty spectacular things can happen.” Noting it to be “very much true” of his on-screen character, Peck says audiences’ introduction to Scott Turner Jr reflects a life centred around “too much rigidity”, with Hooch helping to “break him out of his shell”. That slightly blinkered approach extends to Turner Jr’s love life too. He shows that despite being incredibly capable when it comes to his career, it’s possible to miss something that’s staring you right in the face.

“Scott’s pretty hopeless when it comes to seeing that Erica, Vanessa’s character, is pretty much smitten with him,” admits Peck with a smile. “It seems he’s lost in his own sort of web of adorable, self-centeredness for many of these episodes. What’s cool about all the characters on the show is that they’re not just simply one note. They’re sort of a beautiful mix of all these incredible assets while also having some defects as human beings in general.”

Creator Matt Nix — writing talent behind Burn Notice and The Comedians — used action movies “as a template” for the way approached the show, says Peck. “Episode two is Die Hard. I think episode three, the influence was Heat. We have a Taken episode, which has me doing quite an impression of Liam Neeson. I don’t mean to brag, but yeah, I mean the whole idea of Die Hard specifically, it’s so ripe for intense drama, intense action. “It’s like non-stop action until the moment the episode’s over. So it’s definitely one of my favourites — and not just because of the amount of push-ups I did knowing I was going to be in the tank top for most of the episode.” Turner & Hooch is now available to stream on Disney+.