The character of Ezra Lieberman is thought by many to be modeled on the famous real life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Olivier plays a Nazi hunter in this film while in Marathon Man (1976), he played Dr. Christian Szell, an evil Nazi doctor. Szell was known as "The White Angel", whereas Mengele was known as the "Angel of Death". Both of the lead actors, Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, played General Douglas MacArthur in films produced roughly the same time as The Boys From Brazil, Peck in MacArthur (1977) and Olivier in Inchon (1981). Peck's performance as the evil Mengele contrasts with the heroic roles he was most famous for playing, notably Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.