Simon Pegg

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Birthday:

14 February 1970, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Birth Name:

Simon John Beckingham

Height:

178 cm

English actor, writer and comedian Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, to Gillian Rosemary (Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician. His parents divorced when Pegg was seven. He later took his stepfather's surname, "Pegg". He was educated at Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School in Gloucestershire and went on to Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English literature and performance studies. He then attended the University of Bristol, and earned a bachelor's degree in drama. In the early 1990s, Pegg moved to London and began forging a successful career in stand-up comedy. Television opportunities followed including roles in Six Pairs of Pants (1995), Asylum (1996) and We Know Where You Live (1997). In 1999, Pegg and Jessica Hynes teamed up to write and star in cult sitcom Spaced (1999), directed by Edgar Wright. The series also featured Pegg's best friend, Nick Frost. Pegg's breakthrough in film came with the zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead (2004), which he also co-wrote with director Edgar Wright. Again, the film featured Nick Frost. The trio also scored a hit with police comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Further film successes followed for Pegg, notably in the iconic role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek (2009) and alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011). Show less «

[on seeing Star Wars (1977) for the first time as a child] It was like an awakening.

You know what, despite my complaints about The Phantom Menace and Episode II, when Episode III comes out I'll be first in line. I genuinely ...Show more »

You know what, despite my complaints about The Phantom Menace and Episode II, when Episode III comes out I'll be first in line. I genuinely love it. Show less «

Every person should have their escape route planned. I think everyone has an apocalypse fantasy, what would I do in the event of the end of ...Show more »

Every person should have their escape route planned. I think everyone has an apocalypse fantasy, what would I do in the event of the end of the world, and we just basically - me and Nick - said what would we do, where would we head? Show less «

I always loved horror and that's sort of the reason we decided to make the film. We were nourished on those sorts of films, so it was a labo...Show more »

I always loved horror and that's sort of the reason we decided to make the film. We were nourished on those sorts of films, so it was a labor of love. Show less «

Chris Martin's a good friend of mine. I'm actually Apple's godfather. He's an old friend and we've been mates for quite a few years now.

Doctor Who (1963) was a big part of my childhood so it was a great honour to be in it.

But I think there's plenty of British comedy that Americans have never seen that they would like but sometimes things just get through.

Both me and Edgar are firm believers in never underestimating or talking down to an audience, and giving an audience something to do, to giv...Show more »

Both me and Edgar are firm believers in never underestimating or talking down to an audience, and giving an audience something to do, to give them something which is entirely up to them to enter into the film and find these hidden things and whatever. Show less «

As a certain kind of threat, as monsters from the id, they're more affective as aggressive killing machines, but I think the whole point of ...Show more »

As a certain kind of threat, as monsters from the id, they're more affective as aggressive killing machines, but I think the whole point of the zombie as Romero framed it was that it's us. They're like larva. They just keep coming. Show less «

Because once the word got out that we were making Shaun of the Dead (2004), we didn't want people to think we were backtracking or changing ...Show more »

Because once the word got out that we were making Shaun of the Dead (2004), we didn't want people to think we were backtracking or changing our minds. Show less «

And also, isn't the root of the word zombie from somnambulist, which means sleepwalker. By the very running immediately stops them from bein...Show more »

And also, isn't the root of the word zombie from somnambulist, which means sleepwalker. By the very running immediately stops them from being zombies. Show less «

American audiences tend to be more expressive than British ones.

[Shaun of the Dead (2004)] I wrote Spaced (1999) with Jessica Hynes (aka Jessica Stevenson), who plays Yvonne in the film - who is our savio...Show more »

[Shaun of the Dead (2004)] I wrote Spaced (1999) with Jessica Hynes (aka Jessica Stevenson), who plays Yvonne in the film - who is our savior that comes and gets us at the end. Show less «

I used to lie in bed in my flat and imagine what would happen if there was a zombie attack.

In England, we don't have any guns whatsoever.

It's the very British thing of reserve and keeping everything shut in, that's what people do with their emotions, shut the curtains on them.

I think that the joke and the ghost story both have a similar set up in that you kind of set something up and pay it off with a laugh or a s...Show more »

I think that the joke and the ghost story both have a similar set up in that you kind of set something up and pay it off with a laugh or a scare. Show less «

I think at its best the American sense of humor is the same as the British sense of humor at its best, which is to be wry and ironic and sel...Show more »

I think at its best the American sense of humor is the same as the British sense of humor at its best, which is to be wry and ironic and self deprecating. Show less «

I don't know about doing a sequel. I think you can retroactively damage a product by adding to it.

I just love listening to the laughter.

I loved playing Shaun, he's not that different from me.

I mean, yeah, I'm sure that Python and the other things have paved the way for a greater understanding of the British sense of humor, but I ...Show more »

I mean, yeah, I'm sure that Python and the other things have paved the way for a greater understanding of the British sense of humor, but I don't think it's all that different than the American sense of humor. Show less «

I once showed a holiday video to my entire family and forgot there was a point where I flashed. I only realized about one second before it h...Show more »

I once showed a holiday video to my entire family and forgot there was a point where I flashed. I only realized about one second before it happened and couldn't get to the remote in time to stop them all from seeing me pull down my trousers and reveal myself. My sister screamed and my mum said, "Ooh, that's changed.". Show less «

Being the Doctor? I don't think I'd do it for two reasons. One, I'm really loving doing movies. I'm really enjoying working in the US. Secon...Show more »

Being the Doctor? I don't think I'd do it for two reasons. One, I'm really loving doing movies. I'm really enjoying working in the US. Second, I really love Doctor Who (2005) and I'd hate to have to sit down every Saturday night and have it be me. David's (David Tennant) done such an incredible job, he's gonna be a tough act to follow. It would feel awful if I just went and balled up the franchise by just being rubbish. Show less «

[on taking over the role of "Scotty" from the late James Doohan] I didn't want to do an impression of James Doohan, because the guy's a lege...Show more »

[on taking over the role of "Scotty" from the late James Doohan] I didn't want to do an impression of James Doohan, because the guy's a legend. I wanted to make it a tribute to him. His son, Christopher Doohan, was on the Enterprise with me. He was my assistant, so I was able to talk to him about his experiences with his dad. Show less «

[on his How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) co-star Megan Fox] She's really sharp and actually a bit of a geek. Queen of the ge...Show more »

[on his How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) co-star Megan Fox] She's really sharp and actually a bit of a geek. Queen of the geeks - the most beautiful geek I've ever met. Even if she did keep pointing out I was old enough to be her father. Show less «

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to pla...Show more »

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It's basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating. Show less «

After a barrage of tweets on the matter, allow me to clarify, I am not in the running for, nor do I have any desire to be the next Doctor. I...Show more »

After a barrage of tweets on the matter, allow me to clarify, I am not in the running for, nor do I have any desire to be the next Doctor. I actually haven't watched the show since I was in it. I'm very method that way. Show less «

[on Ricky Gervais] Publicly he has zero humility. He would never say anything nice about anyone. He's incredibly competitive and it's not en...Show more »

[on Ricky Gervais] Publicly he has zero humility. He would never say anything nice about anyone. He's incredibly competitive and it's not enough that he be the best, everyone else has to die horribly. In person he actually has some humility and is very sweet. He can be a nice guy. Show less «

[Will Ferrell] is a great example of a guy who people aren't sure about when he does something serious. I really loved [Stranger Than Fictio...Show more »

[Will Ferrell] is a great example of a guy who people aren't sure about when he does something serious. I really loved [Stranger Than Fiction (2006)], which was a serious film he did, but the audiences didn't turn out so much. Show less «

[on Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)] Not as good as the first by any means - the thumb in the lava at the end is one of the most ridiculou...Show more »

[on Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)] Not as good as the first by any means - the thumb in the lava at the end is one of the most ridiculous moments in any film, ever. Show less «

[on the death of his comedy hero Rik Mayall] It is a terrible loss, he was a true pioneer and an incredible force. His peers and him were as...Show more »

[on the death of his comedy hero Rik Mayall] It is a terrible loss, he was a true pioneer and an incredible force. His peers and him were as important to comedy as The Sex Pistols were to music. They shook things up and changed it for the better. For me, The Young Ones (1982) will always be his signature performance. Rick was just a character for the ages. I'm really sad. Show less «

[on J.J. Abrams directing Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)] He's very, very keen to make the film in line with the original...Show more »

[on J.J. Abrams directing Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)] He's very, very keen to make the film in line with the original three in terms of the mode of production. It's being shot on film, they're using a huge amount of physical effects, puppets, masks, stuff that will make it feel very much continuous with the original three even though its set 30 years later. And it's going to be awesome. I think it's going to drop bombs on the world. It's going to be absolutely amazing. Show less «

The beauty of Point Break (1991) was that Kathryn Bigelow took a ludicrous idea, cast Reeves/Swayze/Busey and made a classic. Good luck rema...Show more »

The beauty of Point Break (1991) was that Kathryn Bigelow took a ludicrous idea, cast Reeves/Swayze/Busey and made a classic. Good luck remake. Show less «

(On fame) It's like jumping into a pool full of sharks.