5. Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg wasnt completely unknown when Band of Brothers aired, having written and starred in two series of the cult sitcom Spaced alongside Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes). Co-starring his real-life best friend Nick Frost and directed by Edgar Wright, the shows following was small, however, despite its excellence, and Band of Brothers was Peggs first mainstream role, of sorts. Playing the role of William Evans, Pegg was only on screen for a few minutes in the series first two episodes, but would become known in his native Britain three years afterwards for Shaun Of The Dead, the romantic zombie comedy (or Rom-Zom-Com) that saw him reunite with Wright and Frost, who also worked with him on Hot Fuzz, a spiritual successor to Shaun that lampooned the buddy cop genre. Having shared the screen and become friends with David Schwimmer on the Band of Brothers set, Pegg would then be directed by the Friends alumnus in Run Fat Boy Run, his first leading role in a project not directed by Wright. He would then follow this with the forgettable How To Lose Friends And Alienate People before securing the role of Montgomery Scott in Star Trek, working with J.J Abrams for a second time (the first having been Mission Impossible 3, in which Pegg played a minor supporting role). A major role in the fourth Mission Impossible film followed, as well as parts in the Narnia and Ice Age franchises, which combined to showcase his acting talents, both dramatic and comedic, to a wide audience. This year, meanwhile will see Pegg reprise the role of Scotty in Star Trek: Into Darkness and star in The Worlds End, another sci-fi feature that will make up the third and final part of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy that includes both Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, each of which has himself, Frost and Wright in common. He will also return to television with a part in Frank Darabonts new project, Lost Angels, though the scale of his role is currently unknown. Set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 50s, its focus on the LAPD and gangster Mickey Cohen has drawn comparisons to 1997 film L.A Confidential and 2011 video game L.A Noire.