2. Sgt. Nicholas Angel Hot Fuzz
Its odd to watch Pegg take on the straight-man role after his many years dedicated to clowning around on British TV, but Nicholas Angel isnt exactly your typical straight man, and the actor sells quirk this with aplomb. For my money, its a great performance hidden by the fact this is a comedy film Peggs Angel is an action movie cliché trapped in a humourless body, and the actor puts this across perfectly. Pegg knows hes not the real star of the show here that honour falls to Nick Frosts constable Buttterman and he acts as a perfect comic foil the tubby buffoon, his caricature-esque seriousness blending well with Frosts earnest idiocy. Yet despite this potential overshadowing, he manages to put in a great shift, even under the burden of playing such a buttoned-down character. Of course, you all know that this is only half the story in Hot Fuzz the other half is one of glorious, wanton violence, all tremendously shot and choreographed and invoking the finest clichés and vignettes of action film history. Though hed cut his run-and-gun teeth in Mission Impossible III, he hadnt been called upon to pull off just this much Hard Boiled-esque tomfoolery before, and to his credit, Pegg ticks all the boxes and ticks them well. Its a glorious performance from start to finish, utterly vital to the film we wouldnt know how ridiculous Sandford was if we didnt have Angels bemused/incredulous reactions to guide us and Pegg well and truly hits the heights.