Simon Pegg 'turned up drunk' to film 'Mission: Impossible III' scenes

Kerry Martin
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Simon Pegg 'ashamed' of 'Star Wars' toxic fandom
Simon Pegg 'ashamed' of 'Star Wars' toxic fandom

Simon Pegg has revealed he was a 'wreck' during the production of Mission Impossible III as a result of an alcohol addiction.

The actor, 51, who played Benji Dunn in the film admitted he was ‘kind of a wreck’ during filming for the 2006 blockbuster. Appearing on the Headstrong podcast Pegg — who has since overcome his addiction — reflected on 'reaching the point of no return'.

He said: “I remember being stuck in this hotel room in Beverly Hills. I would drink a lot. I drank my whole mini-bar because I wanted to not feel that way.”

Tom Cruise (R) arrives (with Simon Pegg, L, and Michelle Monaghan) at the UK Premiere of Mission Impossible 3 (M:i:III), at the Odeon Leicester Square, central London. (Photo by Ian West - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Tom Cruise, right, with Simon Pegg, left, and Michelle Monaghan, second right, at the UK Premiere of Mission Impossible 3. (PA Images via Getty Images)

“By the time I came on set to do my scenes I was kind of a wreck because I was super-anxious and I'd been drinking.”

Read: Tom Cruise (sort of) nearly killed Simon Pegg with pranks

He continued: "All those fixes are so temporary, they don't solve the problem they just dam it up."

"When I knew I was in trouble I just kicked the can down the street by having a pint. It's not the way to go."

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise attend the 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' U.S. Premiere at Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum on July 22, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by James Devaney/Getty Images)
Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise attend the 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' U.S. Premiere, 2018 (James Devaney/Getty Images)

On the podcast the Shaun of the Dead star candidly said his time at university had saved him from a dangerous point in his 20s, but that alcoholism always 'dogged' him and he found himself at ‘rock bottom’ at the end of his 30s.

“As long as alcohol was in my blood I would feel anaesthetised from how I felt,” he said.

“Obviously the only problem with that is, you have to stay drunk all the time and that inevitably leads to alcoholism which is where I found myself towards the end of my thirties.”

Read more: Kate Hudson says Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise scaled eight-foot gate to get into party

Asked which point felt like the turning point in his battle with addiction, he admitted: “It was because I reached a point of no return. I reached rock bottom. I’d just come back from Comic Con I think, I stopped for a drink on the way back from the airport before I even got home.”

“It was impossible to disguise the kind of mess I was in so my wife and friends intervened and I kind of woke up there [The Priory].”

Actor Simon Pegg, right, and his wife Maureen Pegg pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Mission Impossible Fallout', in London, Friday, July 13, 2018. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Simon Pegg and his wife Maureen (Invision/AP)

“Suddenly having given myself up to being helped and admitting that I had a problem and being in the right place to solve it, it was a great relief to me.”

“Before I was hiding bottles and I’d be one person in front of my family and friends and another when I was by myself.”

Watch: Simon Pegg receives driving ban