Simon Pegg’s precise timing makes ordinary embarrassment funny without costing his characters our sympathy. We rate him most highly in Spaced; the action franchises have found a dependable comic actor and too often stopped there.
Fi1m perspective
In Spaced (1999), Simon Pegg gives being young and skint the attention an action film might give a crisis. His Tim Bisley has ordinary problems, and Pegg’s precise timing makes them worth following. Jessica Hynes, who co-writes the programme with him and plays Daisy Steiner, is looser in her comic delivery, so the two never seem to be taking turns at the same joke. This is where we find him most rewarding: playing someone whose embarrassment matters.
We felt unexpectedly protective of Tim and Daisy because their lack of money remained recognisable beneath the extravagant film references. Edgar Wright’s direction sometimes presses those references harder than the actors need, drawing attention away from people who were already funny. Pegg and Hynes give us enough reason to forgive that, though we would not pretend every cinematic quotation earns its place. We sometimes wish Wright would leave them to it.
The collaboration with Wright continued through Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013), with Pegg co-writing and starring alongside Nick Frost. Those films extended his work in British comedy and genre parody. From 2006, the Mission: Impossible films gave him Benji Dunn; Star Trek (2009) added Scotty. The recurring technician suited his comic skills, but also offered the prospect of being asked to do much the same thing repeatedly.
In Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), he is dependable company, without being given much that changes our view of him. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) finds Benji grown into the field agent he once pretended to be, and Pegg gets the few jokes available. We welcome that development, even in a film that spends too long explaining itself. We would still like more parts that ask him to make a person’s awkwardness funny, rather than relieve the seriousness of an action sequence. Start with Spaced, provided its occasional insistence on making sure we spot the film reference will not spoil the pleasure.
Biography
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was born Simon John Beckingham on 14 February 1970 in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, and later took his stepfather's surname. He studied theatre, film and television at the University of Bristol.
Pegg came to prominence as co-creator of the sitcom Spaced (1999–2001). With director Edgar Wright and actor Nick Frost he co-wrote and starred in the films Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013). He has played Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible series since Mission: Impossible III (2006), including Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025). Other notable roles include Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the Star Trek films (2009–2016) and a voice part in the Ice Age series.
