Simon Pegg has revealed he would turn up drunk on set while filming Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible III back in 2006.
The actor, 51, who portrayed IMF Tech Benji Dunn in the blockbuster, admitted he was ‘kind of a wreck’ as he recalled how one time he drank his hotel room’s entire mini-bar ahead of shooting scenes.
Appearing on the Headstrong podcast, Simon, who has overcome his alcohol addiction, reflected on hitting rock bottom and what prompted him to seek help.
Alcoholism battle: Simon Pegg has revealed he would turn up drunk on set while filming Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible III in 2006 (pictured in 2018)
He said: ‘I remember being stuck in this hotel room in Beverly Hills. I would drink a lot. I drank my whole mini-bar because I wanted to not feel that way.
‘By the time I came on set to do my scenes I was kind of a wreck because I was super-anxious and I’d been drinking.’
Simon continued: ‘All those fixes are so temporary, they don’t solve the problem they just dam it up.
‘When I knew I was in trouble I just kicked the can down the street by having a pint. It’s not the way to go.’
The Shaun Of The Dead star it was while filming Mission Impossible in 2006 that he realised he was an alcoholic and needed help.
Drunk: The actor, 51, admitted he was ‘kind of a wreck’ as he recalled how one time he drank his hotel room’s entire mini-bar ahead of shooting scenes for the blockbuster hit
READ RELATED: Normal People star Paul Mescal admits he couldn't stop 'bawling' after filming breakdown scenes
‘Having admitted I have a problem and being there to solve it was a great relief,’ he said.
‘I came out a better person, that’s not to suggest I was fixed in any way, but it certainly gave me the tools to know how to cope.’
Simon has previously spoken about his battle with alcoholism.
He previously told GQ Magazine: ‘I got to the point where I was sitting on the sidewalk in downtown San Diego having lost my phone and eating pizza and it was just so bleak. When I got home, Maureen just knew I had been drinking and it was bad. I knew then I needed to get help.’
Simon has been married to wife Maureen McCann since 2005.
Discussing how his life took a change for the better after going teetotal, he added: ‘What I found was that as soon as I stopped, things started to go my way. It’s a strange thing and I have had conversations with other people about this, that when you quit drinking the universe starts to give back to you a little bit.
‘Maybe it’s because I figured out why I was drinking, which was to combat the depression and so I was able to get on top of what was the real issue. I spoke to people and got proper help.’
The Mission: Impossible III star that he didn’t need to get drunk to ‘escape from things’, and by ‘confronting’ his problems, his ‘reward’ was how his life has panned out over the last decade.
Treatment: The Shaun Of The Dead star it was while filming Mission Impossible in 2006 that he realised he was an alcoholic and needed help (pictured with wife Maureen in 2018)
Source:
