Simon Pegg

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Simon Pegg

Simon John Pegg (born 14 February 1970; age 54) is the English actor, writer and comedian who portrays Montgomery Scott in the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek. He previously worked with Abrams and other members of Star Trek's production crew on Paramount Pictures' Mission: Impossible III. Pegg is known for starring in and co-creating (with Jessica Stevenson) the cult British situation comedy series Spaced and for starring in the British comedy films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, both of which he co-wrote with director Edgar Wright.

Early career and international success

Hailing from Gloucester, England, and educated at Bristol University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, Pegg started his showbiz career as a stand-up comic before moving into film and television. He gained prominence as the co-creator, co-writer and star of Spaced, which ran from 1999 through 2001. He was nominated for the Situation Comedy Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for his work on Spaced and he also received a British Comedy Award nomination as Best Male Comedy Newcomer for Spaced and the sketch series Big Train.

Pegg, alongside Spaced colleagues Edgar Wright and Nick Frost, acquired international recognition for the "romantic zombie comedy" Shaun of the Dead, which was a critical and financial success in both the United Kingdom and the United States. They then followed Shaun with Hot Fuzz in 2007, which enjoyed even greater success.

Awards and Accolades

Pegg won several accolades for Shaun of the Dead, including one for Best Screenplay from the British Independent Film Awards and the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy from Evening Standard British Film Awards.

In September 2007 he was named Actor of the Year by the British GQ Men of the Year Awards. Two months later, Entertainment Weekly ranked Pegg #4 in their "Eight to Watch in '08." [1] The following month, Pegg was awarded the Ronnie Barker Writers' Guild Award. [2]. Hot Fuzz was named Best Comedy of the Year in the 2008 Empire Awards on 10 March 2008. [3]

On 4th December 2008, Pegg received an honorary fellowship from the University of Gloucestershire for "contribution to the arts as an actor, writer, comedian, producer and director." [4]

Other projects and recent work

Pegg had a small role in HBO's acclaimed mini-series Band of Brothers with fellow Trek film actors Tom Hardy (Star Trek Nemesis) and Neal McDonough (Star Trek: First Contact). Pegg later worked with Hardy in the 2003 film The Reckoning. Pegg is one of two actors appearing in 2009's Star Trek to have worked with Tom Hardy; the other actor is Eric Bana, who appeared with Hardy in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down. Incidentally, both Pegg and Bana have a strong background in comedy.

In addition, Pegg has participated in a number of Doctor Who productions, including the audio story Invaders from Mars and a guest spot as The Editor in a 2005 episode of Doctor Who entitled "The Long Game". This means that Pegg and co-star Deep Roy are among the very small number of actors to appear in both the Star Trek and Doctor Who franchises. Pegg would not consider playing the role of the Doctor, however, because he is "too much of a fan." [5]

Pegg was seen in a cameo as a zombie in George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (starring Robert Joy), a role Pegg received at Romero's invitation after the director viewed Shaun of the Dead. Pegg also voiced a newsreader on Romero's Diary of the Dead.

In Mission: Impossible III, Pegg played IMF (Impossible Missions Force) laboratory technician Benji. Others who appeared in this film included Jeff Chase, Ellen Bry, Jane Daly, Bruce French, Tony Guma, Tracy Middendorf, and assistant director David Waters. In November 2005, with his work on M:i:III complete, Pegg co-starred in Jake Paltrow's romantic comedy The Good Night, which was released in 2007.

In 2006, Pegg co-starred with his friend, David Schwimmer, in the black comedy film Big Nothing. Pegg and Schwimmer previously worked together on Band of Brothers and they again collaborated on the comedy film Run, Fat Boy, Run. Pegg portrayed the role in this film and also co-wrote the screenplay, while Schwimmer directed. In 2008, Pegg starred alongside Kirsten Dunst in the comedy How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Pegg also voices the role of Buck in the third Ice Age film, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

In 2009, Pegg and his best friend and colleague, Nick Frost, joined the cast of Steven Spielberg's motion capture 3-D film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, based on Georges "Hergé" Remi's comic book series.[6] Pegg and Frost are also currently in development on the film Paul, which they wrote together. Few details about this new project are known other than it centers on "two British geeks on a road trip across America." [7]

Star Trek

The announcement that Pegg had been cast as Scotty in 2009's Star Trek came on 11 October 2007. [8] Pegg beat out numerous actors for the part, including fan favorite Paul McGillion, who was ultimately cast in the film in a different role. According to McGillion, J.J. Abrams explained to him that he always had Pegg in mind for the role. [9] Pegg was reportedly "overjoyed" to have won the role of Scotty. [10]

According to Pegg, Abrams offered him the role of Scotty via e-mail. Pegg had just returned to England from filming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People in New York when he turned on his phone and found an e-mail from Abrams waiting for him that said "Do you want to play Scotty?" Pegg called it the most shocking e-mail he ever received. He was initially hesitant since he was worried about being tied to a franchise for nine years, to which Abrams responded, "If the worst thing that happens is we get to hang out every three years and have fun, what's the problem?" Pegg signed up shortly thereafter. [11]

Pegg has received blessings from the children of James Doohan, the actor who originally played the role of Scotty who died in 2005. Doohan's daughter, Dierdre Doohan, found Pegg to be "a perfect choice" to play Scotty. Doohan's son, Chris, agreed, stating:

"He may not look like Scotty, but his Scottish accent is very good, with a slight Glaswegian flare and he's a great actor. ... I believe that the casting of someone that is known more for comedic roles was a well thought out, smart decision. The character of Scotty was always good for a little comic relief ... and Simon Pegg is very funny, with impeccable timing."[12]

In a letter to Chris Doohan, Pegg conveyed his joy at being cast as Scotty and promised to be faithful to James Doohan's original portrayal:

"I can’t tell you what a thrill it is for me to be cast in this role. Believe me when I say my participation in this film will be a 100% tribute to your Dad and a role that will forever belong to him." [13]

To prepare for the role of Scotty, Pegg sought the assistance of his Scottish wife, Maureen McCann, to hone his Scottish accent. [14] He also darkened his hair from its natural blond to a shade of brown. [15] Pegg completed filming his scenes by 10 March 2008, although he returned to the production a few weeks later for some effects shots. [16] He completed his work on Trek on 24 March 2008, [17] having worked on the project for approximately five weeks. [18]

External links

• [19]
• Peggster.net - fan site
• Simon Pegg at Wikipedia
• Template:IMDb-link