20 Declassified Facts About The Mission: Impossible Series

12. M:I3 Made A Liar Out Of Simon Pegg

D'ONK Mission Impossible
Paramount

Pegg's star began to rise in 2004 with Shaun of the Dead, a "RomZomCom" (romantic zombie comedy) that opened the door for other "zom-coms." Doing press for the film, Pegg had to answer an interviewer who wondered if this success would mean he would stop doing British films and go Hollywood. Pegg's offhand response?

"Well, I'm not about to go and star in Mission: Impossible III." Pegg later confirmed the quote. 

One of the people who liked Shaun was J.J. Abrams, director of - you guessed it - M:I3, who gave Pegg a call out of the blue one day and asked if he wanted to be in the movie. Not only has Pegg remained with the series since, but Abrams also made him Montgomery Scott in the later Star Trek films.

Contributor
Contributor

T Campbell has written quite a few online comics series and selected work for Marvel, Archie and Tokyopop. His longest-running works are Fans, Penny and Aggie-- and his current project with co-writer Phil Kahn, Guilded Age.