Simon Pegg credits ‘Mission: Impossible’ for saving him from depression and alcoholism
Simon Pegg credited this acting thriller for saving his life.
The actor, 55, got candid on starring in six “Mission: Impossible” movies alongside Tom Cruise, starting with 2006’s “Mission: Impossible III.”
Pegg told that in “the apotheosis of my life ambitions, my dreams as a kid, a situation I’d never even thought I’d find myself in … being in Hollywood, where they made the films that I grew up loving.”
The actor also recalled being “deeply unhappy” during that time.
“What I was ultimately dealing with was depression,” Pegg said, “which I was trying to manage by anaesthetising myself. It was less of being alcoholic, more being dependent on the sensation.”
The comic reminisced on spending the first day on set with Cruise, 62, “slightly hungover and feeling a little bit wired … I remember not being particularly present, because I was so inside my own head that it was hard to actually relax and enjoy it.”
When Pegg made it back to the hotel, he went straight to the bar, which was a “nihilistic, self-destructive impulse.”
By the time “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” rolled around in 2011, the English actor’s character, Benji Dunn, was sent out to work in the field alongside Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. The film’s production understood Pegg was battling addiction and went out of their way to help support him on set.
“They had a sober companion for me — and just really looked after me,” he told the outlet, highlighting the efforts of J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird.
“I felt very taken care of and felt valued, because they bothered to do that,” he said.
Pegg also recounted Cruise telling him, “You’re going to get in shape for this film — you’re an agent now!”
And that he did — having now been sober since 2010.
“I kind of found this joy in looking after myself and just realizing that if I ate well and went to the gym I could actually feel good,” Pegg confessed. “So I credit ‘Mission’ with rescuing me — because it gave me real focus at a time when I needed focus. And I just had the best time on ‘Ghost Protocol.’”
The release of is right around the corner, with Cruise and company coming back for one last hoorah.
The movie will premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, which is currently underway. It also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Nick Offerman, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Greg Tarzan Davis, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, and Hannah Waddingham.
Looking back at filming all eight projects since 1996, Cruise told , “I will learn a skill, and I know eventually I’m going to use it in a movie.”
One of those skills is dance, “because I’m interested in that art form. The teachers understand how to move a body, what the shape does and the emotion it can create in others.”
Cruise never stops training, “whether it’s the piano or having more time to dance. Or parachuting or flying airplanes or helicopters. The wonderful thing is you’re never there. It can always be better.”
Although when it comes to learning the piano, the Oscar nominee shared, “I wouldn’t say ‘play.’ I enjoy hitting the keys… I find it relaxing.”
The last movie will capture the actor doing a variety of his own action-packed stunts, with the “Top Gun” star revealing how he prepares for those scenes.
“I actually eat a massive breakfast,” Cruise admitted. “The amount of energy it takes — I train so hard for that wing-walking. I’ll eat, like, sausage and almost a dozen eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and fluids. Oh, I’m eating! Picture: It’s cold up there. We’re at high altitude. My body is burning a lot.”
Despite the hardcore routines it takes to bring Ethan Hunt to life, Cruise wouldn’t have it any other way.
He expressed he “always” has moments of gratitude for filming.
Cruise added, “I love making movies. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am.”
