Simon Pegg Talks About Darker Role In ‘Inheritance,’ Teases ‘Mission Impossible’ Details

Simon Pegg has opened up about taking a darker role in “Inheritance” and spilled some details about the upcoming “Mission Impossible” installment.

Pegg is known for his comedic roles in “Shaun of the Dead,” “Absolutely Anything” and “Hot Fuzz,” to name a few. As such, some have branded him as an actor only suited for comedy movies.

However, Pegg showed everyone that he is also capable of taking darker and more dramatic roles with his upcoming film, “Inheritance.” In the upcoming thriller, he plays the role of Morgan, a prisoner who has been held captive in a secret bunker for 30 years. When Lily Collins’ character sets him free, it turns out that he is a rapist and a killer. Pegg’s character in the film is very different from the previous roles he played.

“You can feel like people don’t take you seriously, and that can be a little frustrating sometimes,” Pegg told The Hollywood Reporter about playing against type.

“You think, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I’d like to play this role or that role, or someone with an accent.’ And people go, ‘No, no, you’re this. That’s what you do, and we don’t want you doing anything else.’ You see it with a lot of comedic actors, and sometimes, they’re just not allowed to leave that space,” he continued.

Pegg added that he went into stand-up comedy because he enjoyed it. However, it wasn’t the only thing he wanted to do. There was also a time in his life when he wanted to be at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

“To actually be given the opportunity to play a role that is against type like you say, you jump at it,” Pegg said.

“I was really happy that Vaughn gave me the chance to play someone who was really the opposite of funny,” he added.

Pegg also said that he is excited to do another “Mission: Impossible” movie. According to Pegg, his character, Benji Dunn, won’t be thrilled with the job after what he went through on “Fallout.” Nevertheless, the actor still finds it fun to play out the narratives that director Christopher McQuarrie has set up for him.

For those wondering if he will be wearing a mask in the upcoming “Mission: Impossible” film, the actor said he has gotten over it because he already did it in the previous movie.

“And in ‘Fallout’ I wear two – I got to be Wolf Blitzer, which was really fun because Wolf was on set. We had this fake news gag which was ahead of his time. And then Benji is disguised as another character. I think it’s been done,” Pegg said.