Simon Pegg on toxic fandom and the reality of Hollywood success

Simon Pegg grew up devouring Hollywood blockbusters, like a lot of kids do. He poured everything he learned about movies into the first big film scripts he wrote, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, which are both tributes to Hollywood genre movies.

Now, several years later, Pegg is wholeheartedly Hollywood. He performs his own stunts in a world of helicopter chases, explosions and underwater espionage, starring alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which opens in theatres everywhere Friday, July 27. This is Pegg's fourth appearance in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

When audiences think of the trajectory of Pegg's career, they may think of someone who won the fanboy lottery — someone who went from watching Star Trek to appearing in it — but Pegg says this narrative leaves out many of the challenges he's dealt with on the path to Hollywood success.

Speaking with q guest host Chris dela Torre, Pegg talks about his new reality as a Hollywood action star. He opens up about his former struggle with depression and alcoholism, and shares his perspective on toxic fandom. 

Here is some of what he had to say.

On toxic fandom and the denigration of Jar Jar Binks

​In the cult favourite TV show Spaced, Pegg's character, Tim, refuses to sell a child a Jar Jar Binks doll. Below, Pegg discusses why he feels that scene has contributed to toxic fandom, and how his perspective on fans who troll movie stars has changed. 

You know that was a kind of comment, an early comment I guess, on this sort of entitled toxic fandom, which we see a lot of these days. And I think I was guilty of it myself as well. You know, I kind of channeled my disappointment at the Star Wars prequels through Tim, and was able to say the things I couldn't say without him. But then I sort of became known for it.

I look back on that now, and although it was funny, I read an interview recently with Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar, and he was really affected by that. It hurt him. And he was depressed and he took it personally. And of course, it was difficult to envisage a human being behind all that stuff at the time because there was the crazy, whether you liked him or not, character of Jar Jar Binks. And so everyone was levelling their disdain at that figure, but behind that was a person and he really suffered.

That makes me feel awful about, even that scene, you know? Just because if that scene had a victim, I wasn't aware of it at the time. And, you know, all this toxic fandom, and denigrating things, and complaining and railing on people — it just feels a bit pointless really. It's just films, really, it's just films. It's important in a way, but not in any essential way.

Hollywood — whatever the hell that means — is often seen as being some kind of end goal and nirvana... it's not true at all.- Simon Pegg

On his past struggle with depression and alcoholism

Well, I think the important thing is... that kind of thing is indiscriminate. It has nothing to do with being happy or successful, it doesn't discriminate whether you have, what is perceived as, a material idea of success. You know, obviously Hollywood — whatever the hell that means — is often seen as being some kind of end goal and nirvana... it's not true at all. By any means.

On attaining Hollywood success

I often see myself portrayed as someone who won a ticket. You know, won a competition. And I worked very hard at it, and studied and decided I wanted to be an actor. I didn't fall into it. I actively sought the profession. ... And also there are other sides to my preferences and tastes in movies, it's not just pure cinema and pure entertainment. I enjoy facets of cinema and hope to diversify into different kinds of films.

You know, I often see myself referred to as a comedian, I'm not a comedian. I haven't been a comedian for 25 years. I started out as a stand-up, I did that for a while, but I'm not a comedian. I've specialized in comedy film, I think because that's something that I enjoy and have been able to do. But I also sometimes feel like seeing Benji or Scotty or someone just referred to as the 'comic relief' feels like a reduction to me. It's like, well, yeah they're kind of amusing characters — and particularly with Benji, he provides a degree of lightness to these movies, which is required, because they're so tense.

Listen to the full conversation with Simon Pegg above.

— Produced by Frank Palmer