Movies
Simon Pegg reveals he hid his alcoholism while on the set of ‘Mission: Impossible III’
Along with his personal struggles, Simon Pegg also opened about his relationship with costar Tom Cruise.
Simon Pegg has opened up about his battle with addiction while on the set of ‘Mission: Impossible III’.
The actor spoke with BBC Radio 4′s ‘Desert Island Discs’, and discussed his battle with alcoholism while working on the 2006 film.
“You become very sneaky when you have something like that in your life,” he told host Lauren Laverne.
Pegg, who plays IMF technical field agent Benji Dunn in the series, says he slowly began to realize he was a depressive alcoholic despite his successful film career.
“You learn how to do it without anyone noticing because it takes over. It wants to sustain itself and it will do everything it can to not be stopped,” he said.
“But eventually it just gets to a point when it can’t be hidden, and that’s when, thankfully, I was able to pull out of the dive.”
Pegg stated that his mental health problems began with a bout of depression while he was studying at the University of Bristol. It returned while working on the ‘Mission: Impossible’ set, and Pegg says he remembers using alcohol to numb his pain.
Pegg credits birth of daughter for his recovery
Pegg, who will feature in this summer’s ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’ and next year’s sequel ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two’, says it was the birth of his daughter, Matilda, in 2009 that helped him realize his need for recovery.
Along with opening up about his personal struggles, Pegg also touched on his relationship with his ‘Mission: Impossible’ costar Tom Cruise.
The two have appeared in four entries together ahead of this summer’s fifth, but Pegg says he avoids talking about Cruise’s faith in the Church of Scientology as he believes it would “abuse my privileged access that I get to him.”
“My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable,” said Pegg. “It’s always been a very easy relationship.
“I think you realize, when you meet the person rather than the thicket of mythology that’s built up around them, it’s a different experience. I mean, he loves [the fame] and he really relishes it. It’s all he knows. It energizes him and spurs him on.”