Simon Pegg

Simon Pegg has built a career around an unusually flexible screen presence: quick-witted and recognisably human in comedy, yet equally at home amid the machinery of large-scale science-fiction and action films. Born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, on 14 February 1970, he studied English literature and theatre before graduating from the University of Bristol with a degree in theatre, film and television. After early television appearances in shows including Big Train, Hippies and I'm Alan Partridge, Pegg created and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced with Jessica Stevenson. Directed by Edgar Wright and featuring Nick Frost, the series established a creative partnership that would shape a substantial part of Pegg’s film career. A zombie sequence in Spaced helped lead Pegg and Wright to co-write Shaun of the Dead, the 2004 romantic zombie comedy in which Pegg starred. They followed it with the police-action homage Hot Fuzz and completed their Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy with The World’s End in 2013. That collaboration shows Pegg’s particular strength as both performer and writer. His comedy often depends on ordinary people trying to keep up with extraordinary situations, whether facing zombies, village conspiracies or the possible end of the world. His partnership with Frost continued with Paul, which Pegg co-wrote, while his wider work has included producing, screenwriting, directing and voice acting. Pegg has also become a familiar presence in major franchises. He first played IMF technician Benji Dunn in Mission: Impossible III and returned for five sequels, through The Final Reckoning. As Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, he appeared in three Star Trek films and co-wrote Star Trek Beyond. He also played Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and voiced Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Across those very different projects, Pegg’s appeal lies in the same grounded quality: he can bring comic tension to a blockbuster without treating the stakes as a joke.