Simon Pegg: Comedy Guru Hands Over the Spotlight to a Dog’s Perfect Take

By Kristina Moskalenko

KRISTINA: Simon, I was wandering around the set of Absolutely Anything and overheard an extra explaining how she’s going to play a skeleton popping out of a box. So… what exactly is going on here?

SIMON: (laughs) Yeah, well, today we’re filming a zombie uprising. My character, Neil Clarke — a teacher — accidentally blows up his classroom, panics, and wishes all the dead would come back to life. And, of course, they actually do. Every single one of them. It’s utter madness.

KRISTINA: That sounds bonkers! But is there some kind of religious angle? How does your character get the power to bring people back?

SIMON: Aliens. Yeah, aliens give Neil this superpower to grant any wish. But he’s a bit of a numpty, so he totally messes it up. Like, he tries to fix global warming, and boom — instant ice age. Typical.

KRISTINA: How on earth did you agree to this role?

SIMON: Honestly? Because Terry Jones is directing, and it’s the Monty Python crew back together — playing aliens for the first time since 1983. I mean, how could I say no to that?

KRISTINA: That’s some legendary company.

SIMON: Absolutely. Oh, and I’m working with Mojo, the dog. Really clever chap, voiced by Robbie Williams, believe it or not. Working with animals is always tricky, but Mojo’s a sausage-driven genius. If Mojo nails a take and I mess mine up, they still use Mojo’s. Fair enough, I say. (laughs)

KRISTINA: You have quite the fanbase. What’s the strangest gift you’ve ever gotten from a fan?

SIMON: Two incredible videos for my birthday, both from Russia, which honestly blew me away. People get really creative. I also get paintings sometimes, and, weirdly enough, photos of tattoos — of me, no less. I’m still trying to figure out what that’s about. Maybe I should be flattered? (grins)