Simon Pegg was a British actor, writer and comedian who rose to fame in the U.K. as star of the popular twenty-something slacker sitcom “Spaced” (Channel Four, 1999, 2001). Pegg frequently collaborated with other talent from “Spaced,” forming a hip new clique of British comedians who eventually found widespread appeal with international audiences. He co-wrote and starred in the cultishly adored zombie spoof “Shaun of the Dead” in 2004, earning a U.S. following that ballooned to full-blown stardom in 2007 with the action flick send-up “Hot Fuzz.” Adding further luster to his cool-factor, Pegg was cast in late 2007 as engineer Scotty in JJ Abrams retelling of the "Star Trek" feature film franchise.Simon John Pegg was born in Gloucester, in Southwest England, on Valentine’s Day in 1970. He grew up in a music shop where his father, a jazz musician, sold instruments. As a kid, Pegg was fascinated by an eclectic mix of horror movies, Dr. Who, and stand-up comedy. He also played drums from early on, playing in a teenage band called God’s Third Leg. After earning a bachelors degree in Theatre, Film, and Television from Bristol University in 1991, Pegg began performing stand-up comedy at local clubs. Several years later, he moved to London and became an established comedian, touring the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand with his act.
Pegg made the leap from stage comic to television actor with roles on several sketch shows including “Big Train” (BBC, 1998, 2002), “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975-) and “Six Pairs of Pants” (ITV, 1995) – the latter n which, he met a duo he would work with on many future comedy productions, Jessica Stevenson and Edgar Wright. Stevenson and Pegg went on to appear together in the award-winning sitcom, “Faith in the Future” (ITV1, 1995-98) before creating their own show, “Spaced.” Co-written and co-starring Pegg and Stevenson, “Spaced” was directed by Wright and introduced Pegg’s real-life best friend, Nick Frost, who had absolutely no prior experience as an actor. The sitcom revolved around a pair of roommates and their aimless, twenty-something friends and was loved for its excessive use of pop culture references, quick cut edits, and occasional journeys into surreal territory – sometimes aided by recreational drug use. The same year “Spaced” debuted, Pegg toured the U.K. with top British comic Steve Coogan and his live show, “The Man Who Thinks He’s It.” He also starred in the show “Hippies” (1999) for BBC2 and regularly appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “99p Challenge.”
There was definitely a buzz surrounding Simon Pegg, who stayed busy with TV and film appearances in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” (2001) and feature “24 Hour Party People” (2002) while he and Stevenson were hard at work crafting their first feature film script.
“Shaun of the Dead” was an homage to the B-horror films the two had grown up watching, and its ensemble cast was a virtual who’s who of up and coming British comedic actors including Pegg, Stevenson and Frost; Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman from the British “The Office,” Dylan Moran from the BAFTA-winning sitcom “Black Books” and Peter Serafinowicz from “Spaced” and “Black Books.” The Wright-directed film was a breakout success with both critics and audiences, earning over $30 million in box office worldwide and being named the third greatest comedy of all time in a Channel 4 poll.
Now a certifiable “it” boy, Pegg was tapped for roles in film and TV in both Britain and the U.S., appearing in “Dr.Who,” (2005) “Mission Impossible III” (2006) and “Grindhouse” (2007). Director George Romero, whose “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) Pegg had referenced with “Shaun of the Dead,” even gave Pegg and Frost small roles in 2005’s “The Land of the Dead” as a token of thanks.
In 2007, the Pegg-Stevenson-Wright dream team delivered yet another brilliant genre parody with “Hot Fuzz,” which successfully managed to render powerless any future blockbuster cop buddy films with its lampooning of gratuitous gore and action film absurdity. With the team’s established reputation, the film enjoyed more widespread distribution than its predecessor but regardless, was packed front-to-back with rapid fire jokes and site gags. “Hot Fuzz” was a huge hit with loyal followers of “Shaun of the Dead,” as well as legions of new fans who had never seen their prior horror hit. By the time the film hit theaters in the spring of 2007, Pegg was already at work developing a new sitcom for Channel Four called “La Triviata” and was shooting scenes for the forthcoming David Schwimmer-directed feature “Run Fat Boy Run.” His run of good luck continued when it was announced that after a lengthy, high-profile search for the perfect Starship Enterprise crew, JJ Abrams had selected and cast him as Engineer Scotty (played originally by the late James Doohan) in his retelling of the "Star Trek" feature film franchise.
