Simon Pegg says alcoholism made him ‘a wreck’ on set of Mission Impossible III

‘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’

Simon Pegg has opened up about his past struggles with alcohol.

Speaking on the Headstrong podcast, the 51-year-old Shaun of the Dead actor talked about how his role as Benji Dunn in 2006's Mission Impossible III is difficult for him to watch now.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Pegg continued: “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.”

He also spoke candidly about how drinking changed for him, as he grew older. "As long as alcohol was in my blood I would feel anaesthetised from how I felt," he said, referring to his college years. “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 30s.”

Pegg has been open about his history with alcoholism in the past. In 2018, he told The Guardian, “One thing [addiction] does is make you clever at not giving anything away. People think junkies and alcoholics are slovenly, unmotivated people. They’re not – they are incredibly organised. They can nip out for a quick shot of whisky and you wouldn’t know they have gone. It’s as if … you are micro-managed by it,” he said. “But eventually the signs are too obvious. You have taken the dog for one too many walks.”