Simon Pegg Biography

Simon was born on February 14, 1970, to John Beckingham and Gillian Rosemary. His father was a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. His parents divorced when he was seven and his mother remarried. He adopted his stepfather’s surname, Pegg.

He attended several schools as a child including the Castle Hill Primary School and The King’s School, Gloucester.

He went to Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English literature and Theatre. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol where he studied drama.

He began performing stand-up comedy at local clubs in 1991. He moved to London to become a full-fledged comedian and toured all over the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to perform his routines.

He started appearing on television sketch comedies like ‘Faith in the Future’ and ‘Big Train’. He also performed on an episode of “Saturday Night Live’. He met Edgar Wright and Jessica Stevenson on the sets of ‘Six Pairs of Pants’—the duo would become his good friends and future business collaborators.

He co-wrote and starred in the television sitcom ‘Spaced’ along with Jessica Stevenson. The series was directed by Edgar Wright. The series was broadcast from 1999 to 2001 and was nominated for two British Academy Television Awards.

He made the leap to the big screen during the late 1990s when he started playing small roles in films like ‘Tube Tales’ and ‘Guest House Paradiso’.

He played Shaun in the zombie comedy film ‘Shaun of the Dead’ in 2004, which he also co-wrote. He portrayed a man caught up in family problems who at the same time has to deal with zombies as well. The film was a critical as well as a commercial success.

He played the role of Benji Dunn, an I.M.F technician in ‘Mission: Impossible III’ in 2006. He reprised the role in the next film of the franchise, ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ in 2011. He had a bigger role in the latter.

He again collaborated with Edgar Wright in writing the action comedy ‘Hot Fuzz’ (2007) which was directed by Wright. The film revolves around two police officers who are trying to solve a series of mysterious deaths in a village.

He lent his voice to ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ in 2009 and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ in 2010.

He co-wrote and starred as Graeme Willy in the science fiction comedy ‘Paul’ in 2011. The plot revolves around two friends who meet a very ugly-looking alien named Paul and the adventures they have with him.

He next starred in films like ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,’ ‘A Fantastic Fear of Everything,’ ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ ‘The World's End,’ ‘Kill Me Three Times,’ ‘The Boxtrolls,’ and ‘Man Up.’

In 2015, he reprised his role of ‘Benji Dunn’ in the action spy film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The film was the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible series and received positive reviews from critics. It was also a major commercial success and grossed over $682.7 million at the box office. That same year, he portrayed ‘Unkar Plutt’ in the J. J. Abrams-directed epic space opera film ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ The film opened to a positive reception and was a massive box office success, grossing over $2.071 billion on a $447 million budget.

He continued to star in films such as ‘Ice Age: Collision Course,’ ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ ‘The Cloverfield Paradox,’ ‘Ready Player One,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ and ‘Slaughterhouse Rulez.’ He played the role of ‘Theo Ross’ in the 2019 drama film ‘Lost Transmissions.’ The film received mixed reviews from critics and scored a 54% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He was next seen in films like ‘The Sparks Brothers,’ ‘America: The Motion Picture,’ ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild,’ and ‘Luck.’

Simon Pegg returned to play ‘Benji Dunn’ in the 2023 American spy action film ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The film was a critical and commercial success.

His best-known work is the film ‘Shaun of the Dead’ which he co-wrote and starred in. The movie received favorable reviews and was critically acclaimed. The ‘Total Film’ magazine named it the 49th greatest British film of all time in 2004.

The action comedy ‘Hot Fuzz’ which he co-wrote with Edgar Wright and starred in as Nicholas Angel, a dedicated police officer, is also one of his famous works. The movie was widely appreciated and was a huge critical as well as commercial success.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were jointly awarded The British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay for ‘Shaun of the Dead’ in 2004.

The duo won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay for the same movie in 2005.

He has been married to Maureen McCann since July 2005. The couple has one daughter named Matilda.