Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is a British actor and comedian who has had recent breakout success in a wide range of movies. He began as a TV actor and gained success for Spaced, which he co-wrote with Jessica Hynes. He later collaborated with Spaced helmer Edgar Wright and actor Nick Frost on both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Since then, Pegg has starred in a few films and was cast as Scotty in JJ Abrams' reboot of Star Trek.
Pegg is known for his quick-witted and sarcastic characters, and for often playing a slacker. He's quickly become a poster boy for nerd culture for many minor projects like a one-episode role in Doctor Who and his two-man re-enactment of Star Wars episode IV.
His Films:
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
- Hot Fuzz (2007)
- Run Fat Boy Run (2007)
- How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008)
- Star Trek (2009)
- Paul (2010)
- Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol (2011)
- The Adventures of Tintin (2011) In motion capture role partnered with Nick Frost.
This actor provides examples of:
- Ascended Fanboy: His role in Star Trek.
- On his sudden fame after Shaun of the Dead: "Well, it's not like I'm going to go do Mission: Impossible III!"
- He's apparently putting aside his vitriol for the Prequels in order to play an Original Trilogy character, Dengar on Star Wars the Clone Wars.
- Voicing Johnny Alpha on the Big Finish audio adaptations.
- On his sudden fame after Shaun of the Dead: "Well, it's not like I'm going to go do Mission: Impossible III!"
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Nick Frost. They have become such a great comedy duo that they are now working on non-Wright projects like Paul.
- One of Us: Goes without saying; look at his list of credits, side projects and header image.
- Playing Against Type: Played with in Hot Fuzz, where Pegg is much more of a straight man than his normal persona.
- In Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, his comic lab-rat role in the previous film is upgraded to being in the field with the rest of the IMF team on the run, meaning he gets in on the gun-wielding action and even gets to pull the badass-with-sunglasses pose on the main poster alongside the more imposing Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner. He does opt out of helping Ethan Hunt with a physically demanding task at one point, quipping, "I'm on the computer."
- Took a Level In Badass: Went from playing a Comic book artist to an action hero and is awesome at both.