After gaining popularity for his starring role in Edge of Darkness, Peck had become a national favourite and began appearing in films. After a few theatre appearances, Peck made his first appearance as a main character in a film again playing a policeman, John Graham, based in Kenya 1950, who takes under his wing the son of a murdered black priest in the 1987 film The Kitchen Toto. He also appeared in the 1987 film On the Black Hill, adapted from the 1982 novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. However, the film role that really launched his career as a film actor was his portrayal of the android Byron in the 1989 post-apocalyptic science-fiction adventure film Slipstream, in which he appeared alongside other big names including Mark Hamill, Bill Paxton, F. Murray Abraham, Ben Kingsley and Robbie Coltrane. During the late-1980s he also appeared in television shows including The Storyteller, The Jim Henson Hour and Screen One.