Simon Pegg has cemented himself as one of the best funny men in Hollywood. He is not only hilarious as an actor, but has had success as a writer as well. It seems that Simon Pegg is at his best when he works with writer Edgar Wright and writer/actor Nick Frost. The next Simon Pegg movie, Paul, is actually written by Pegg and Nick Frost, so it already sounds like it will be hilarious. The plot of two nerds finding a smart ass alien voiced by Seth Rogen seems to confirm that assessment. When you watch this trailer, it is confirmed without a doubt.
Yes, Paul looks like it will be great. Now let’s take a look back at some other great moments in Simon Pegg’s career.
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead was Simon Pegg’s breakout role. It was an extremely well written movie that perfectly blended humor, zombies, and even some romance. The bromance between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is what brought Shaun of the Dead together. They were both great, and Nick Frost delivered some big laughs as the dimwitted friend. Simon Pegg proved to the world that he was a funny man for the first time and launched his now successful career of making us laugh.
Hot Fuzz
Nick Frost is very good at playing the dimwitted friend, and he ramped it up a notch from Shaun in the Dead in Hot Fuzz. That is to say Nick Frost’s character Danny Butterman is extremely dimwitted, and it leads to some great comedic moments. Simon Pegg is also great as the gruff no nonsense cop, and the two team up to make one of the best buddy cop movies that pokes fun at buddy cop movies of all time. While there are some definite satirical overtones in Hot Fuzz, it also has some pretty awesome action scenes and showed that Simon Pegg can go from the straight man to funny all on his own with ease.
Run, Fatboy, Run
Run, Fatboy, Run was the first big role Simon Pegg had that didn’t involve him working with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost. While it had already been proven that Simon Pegg fit in perfectly with that creative team, it was his role in Run, Fatboy, Run that showed he could be funny all on his own. It also showed that Simon Pegg could write a hilarious movie with somebody other than Edgar Wright, and this time it was with Michael Ian Black.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
How to Lose Friends & Alienate people was not Simon Pegg’s best movie, but it was an important one in his career. This movie came out when Megan Fox was at the peak of her popularity, but Simon Pegg’s performance was not overshadowed by her at all. This could be due to Megan Fox’s actual acting talent, but it proved that Simon Pegg was officially a star in his own right.
Star Trek
Simon Pegg didn’t have the biggest role in Star Trek, but he fit in seamlessly and brought new life to a fan favorite character. He had some great comedic moments as Scotty, and was very believable as an unorthodox genius. More importantly, he showed that he could be part of an amazing cast in what was the definition of a successful blockbuster movie. Only time will tell, but the smart money is on Simon Pegg starring in many more great movies in the future.
