Line #39 Creator/SimonPegg


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_lccop9Zs7C1qalc57o1_400_5075.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300: To explain, he's reading his book to a [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]].]]
3
4	->''"Both me and [[Creator/EdgarWright 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."''
5
6	Simon Pegg (born Simon John Beckingham on 14 February 1970 in [[UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England]]) is a British actor and comedian who has had breakout success in a wide range of movies.
7
8	He began as a TV actor and gained success for ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', which he co-wrote with Creator/JessicaHynes. He later collaborated with ''Spaced'' helmer Creator/EdgarWright and actor Creator/NickFrost on ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/HotFuzz'' and ''Film/TheWorldsEnd''. Since then, Pegg has starred in a few films and was cast as Scotty in Creator/JJAbrams' [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot]] of ''Franchise/StarTrek''. He and Creator/DeepRoy are the only two actors who have played roles in all three of the juggernaut English-language SF franchises: ''Series/DoctorWho'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', and ''Star Trek'' (and in the last-named one, Roy plays Pegg's sidekick).
9
10	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 ''Series/DoctorWho'' and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5W8EBHNsLcepisode his two-man re-enactment]] of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode IV: Film/ANewHope''.
11
12	He admits that he hates being famous. He warns anybody seeking for fame that "It's like jumping into a pool full of sharks."
13	----
14	!!Film Roles:
15	* ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'' - Various Characters
16	** ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' (2004) - Shaun
17	** ''Film/HotFuzz'' (2007) - Sgt. Nicholas Angel
18	** ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' (2013) - Gary King
19	* ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'' - Benjamin "Benji" Dunn
20	** ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' (2006)
21	** ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' (2011)
22	** ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' (2015)
23	** ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'' (2018)
24	** ''Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning'' (2023)
25	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' - Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
26	** ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' (2009)
27	** ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' (2013)
28	** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' (also [[WrittenByCastMember co-writer]]) (2016)
29	* ''Film/BigNothing'' (2006) - Gus
30	* ''Film/RunFatboyRun'' (2007) - Dennis
31	* ''Film/HowToLoseFriendsAndAlienatePeople'' (2008) - Sidney Young
32	* ''Film/BurkeAndHare'' (2010) - William Burke
33	* ''Film/{{Paul}}'' (2011) - Graeme Willy
34	* ''Film/AFantasticFearOfEverything'' (2012) - Jack
35	* ''Film/HectorAndTheSearchForHappiness'' (2014) - Hector
36	* ''Kill Me Three Times'' (2014) - Charlie Wolfe
37	* ''Film/ManUp'' (2015) - Jack
38	* ''Film/AbsolutelyAnything'' (2015) - Neil
39	* ''Franchise/StarWars: Episode VII - Film/TheForceAwakens'' (2015) - Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer on Jakku.
40	* ''Film/{{Ready Player One\|2018}}'' (2018) - Ogden Morrow
41	* ''Film/SlaughterhouseRulez'' (2018) - Meredith Houseman
42	* ''Film/{{Terminal}}'' (2018) - Bill
43	* ''Film/{{Inheritance}}'' (2020) - Morgan Warner
44
45	!!Voice Acting Roles:
46
47	* ''WesternAnimation/FreeJimmy'' (2006) - Paul
48	* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' - Buck
49	** ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'' (2009)
50	** ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse'' (2016)
51	** ''WesternAnimation/TheIceAgeAdventuresOfBuckWild'' (2022)
52	* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Film/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' (2010) - Reepicheep[[note]][[TheOtherDarrin Replacing]] Creator/EddieIzzard[[/note]]
53	* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Adventures of Tintin\|2011}}'' (2011) - Inspector Thompson
54	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' (2012) - Dengar
55	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' (2014) - Various Characters (including C-3PO in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' special)
56	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'' (2014) - Herbert Trubshaw
57	* ''[[VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront2015 Star Wars: Battlefront]]'' (2015) - Dengar
58	* ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' (2016) - Benjamin "Benji" Dunn
59	* ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'' (2019) - skekSil the Chamberlain
60	* ''Piney: The Lonesome Pine'' (2019) - Jackster
61	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoysDiabolical'' (2022) - Wee Hughie
62	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Luck\|2022}}'' (2022) - Bob the Cat
63	* ''VideoGame/HogwartsLegacy'' (2023) - Phineas Nigellus Black
64	* ''WesternAnimation/AgentElvis'' (2023) - Music/PaulMcCartney
65	* ''Anime/ScottPilgrimTakesOff'' (2023) - Studio Security Guard #1
66
67	!!TV Roles:
68
69	* ''Asylum'' (1996) - Simon
70	* ''Is It Bill Bailey?'' (1998) - Various Characters
71	* ''Series/BigTrain'' (1998-2002) - Various Characters
72	* ''Series/{{Spaced}}'' (1999-2001) - Tim Bisley
73	* ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' (2001) - William S. Evans
74	* ''Series/BlackBooks'' (2004) - Evan
75	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' (2005) - The Editor
76	* ''Series/MobCity'' (2013) - Hecky Nash
77	* ''Series/{{The Boys\|2019}}'' (2019) - Hughie's Father
78	* ''Series/TruthSeekers'' (2020) - David
79
80	!!This actor provides examples of:
81
82	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: As Wee Hughie, the protagonist of ''ComicBook/TheBoys''. Confirmed by WordOfGod on several occasions. He ended up playing Hughie's father in the Amazon adaptation. This casting would eventually be fulfilled in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoysDiabolical'', where he gets to actually play Hughie, set in the original comics' continuity no less.
83	* DyeingForYourArt:
84	** Has dyed his hair red for ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', black for ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' and is mostly seen with blond hair, but his real hair colour is actually light-brown. [[invoked]]
85	** He got ''insanely'' [[https://www.thisisinsider.com/simon-pegg-radical-body-transformation-for-inheritance-film-2019-3 ripped]] for his role in ''Inheritance''.
86	* OldShame: He is very critical of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels, Jar Jar Binks in particular. However, in 2018, in the wake of the online harassment of Creator/KellyMarieTran for her role as [[Film/TheLastJedi Rose Tico]] and the revelation that Jar Jar's actor, Creator/AhmedBest, contemplated suicide over similar harassment, [[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-simon-pegg-the-somewhat-reluctant-geek-god/ Pegg felt some shame over his criticism]], even though he admits he was [[IAmNotSpock only criticizing the character at the time]] and thought other people were doing the same.
87	* PlayingAgainstType: [[invoked]]
88	** In ''Film/HotFuzz'', Pegg is much more of a straight man than his normal persona.
89	** In ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'', his comic [[TheLabRat 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."
90	** ''Film/{{Inheritance}}'' is a psychological thriller and he plays a creepy villain without any comedy at all.
91	* PrecisionFStrike: He can sometimes drift into this territory in real life. See below.
92	* PromotedFanboy: [[invoked]]
93	** His role in ''Film/StarTrek2009''.
94	** On his sudden fame after ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'': "Well, it's not like I'm going to go do ''Mission: Impossible III!''"
95	** He apparently put aside his vitriol for the [[Franchise/StarWars Prequels]] in order to play an Original Trilogy character, Dengar, on ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''.
96	*** He then gets to play a character in the new Star Wars trilogy, Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer on Jakku.
97	** Voicing [[ComicBook/StrontiumDog Johnny Alpha]] on the ''Creator/BigFinish'' audio adaptations.
98	** He and his daughter are huge fans of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', and tweeting an obscure reference from the show got him cast in an episode. Didn't hurt that co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh is a huge fan of ''Spaced''.
99	*** Considering that he did Star Wars films many times, it made sense that they'd cast him for the Star Wars crossover episode.
100	** He's been a fan of ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' since seeing it on initial release, and does a rather scarily spot-on impression of Creator/BarryDennen's performance as the Chamberlain in ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance''.
101	* StarMakingRole: ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. He was known in the UK before with ''Series/{{Spaced}}''.
102	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: He's well known for ranting against... anything he hates. His infamous Instagram rant against UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from January 2023 actually got him trending worldwide on Twitter:
103	->''"What a prick. What about arts and humanities, fostering this country's amazing reputation for creativity and self expression? Rishi Sunak wants to fuck his drone army of data entering robots. What a tosser, [[ClusterFBomb FUCK the tories. Get rid of them, please. FUCK! Fuck Rishi Sunak and fuck the TORIES.]]"''
104	* ThoseTwoActors: He seems to get along with a great deal of actors. [[invoked]]
105	** Creator/NickFrost (Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy, ''Film/{{Paul}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Adventures of Tintin\|2011}}''). In ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' they both participated but in different sequels of the franchise.
106	** Creator/RosamundPike (''Film/TheWorldsEnd'', ''Film/HectorAndTheSearchForHappiness'').
107	** Creator/AndySerkis (''Film/BurkeAndHare'', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Adventures of Tintin\|2011}}'', ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheForceAwakens'').
108	** Creator/DavidSchwimmer (''Series/BandOfBrothers'', ''Film/BigNothing''). In ''Film/{{Run Fatboy Run}}'' while Schwimmer did not act, he directed Pegg in it.
109	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Reportedly, he was supposed to play Pete Tyler on ''Series/DoctorWho'', but scheduling got in the way, and he ended up playing the Editor of Satellite Five instead. [[invoked]]
110	* WrittenByCastMember: He co-wrote ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'', ''Film/RunFatboyRun'', ''Film/{{Paul}}'', and ''Film/StarTrekBeyond''. [[invoked]]

Context Creator / SimonPegg