(Simon Pegg as Scotty)
Simon Pegg (born Simon John Beckingham; 14 February 1970) is an English actor,comedian, actor, film producer, and director. He is best known for his starring roles in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run,, the comedy series Spaced and his portrayal of Scotty in the revamped Star Trek. Much of his major work has been in collaboration with some combination of Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, Dylan Moran and Edgar Wright. Pegg has a friendship with American actor David Schwimmer. The two have worked together in Band of Brothers, Big Nothing, and Run Fatboy Run. His likeness was also used for the character of Wee Hughie in the comic book series The Boys;
while this was done without Pegg's permission, he quickly became a fan
of the title, and even wrote the introduction to the first bound volume.
Pegg was born in Brockworth, Gloucester, England, the son of Gillian Rosemary (née Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician and keyboard salesman. His parents divorced when he was seven and he took on the surname "Pegg" after his mother re-married. He attended many schools including Castle Hill Primary School and Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School and later Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English Literature and Performance Studies. Pegg studied drama at the University of Bristol and wrote his undergraduate thesis on "A Marxist overview of popular Seventies cinema and hegemonic discourses". At Bristol he appeared in a Drama Society production of Howard Barker's Victory alongside Sarah Kane and David Greig.
He has sectoral heterochromia, where his eyes are blue-grey yet a
portion of his right eye is brown. His favourite film is Raising
Arizona. He has stated that his favourite shows are The X-Files and
Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Pegg was awarded an honorary fellowship by the University of Gloucestershire on 4 December 2008.
On
18 September 2009 Pegg joined Coldplay on stage during their gig at
Wembley Stadium, playing harmonica to the song "Trouble", then shouting
"Hello, Wembley!" to the enjoyment of the 80,000+ person crowd.
