Mission Impossible actor Simon Pegg reveals he hid his alcoholism from co-stars

Mission Impossible actor Simon Pegg recently talked about his struggle with alcoholism. The actor revealed he was battling the alcohol addiction while filming for Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise. He said he had to become “sneaky” to hide it from his co-stars and film crew. 

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Pegg said, “You become very sneaky when you have something like that in your life. You learn how to do it without anyone noticing because it takes over. It wants to sustain itself and it will do everything it can to not be stopped. But eventually it just gets to a point when it can’t be hidden, and that’s when, thankfully, I was able to pull out of the dive.”

Pegg experienced a period of teenage depression that marked the beginning of his mental health issues after his A-level exams and before enrolling at the University of Bristol. While filming Mission: Impossible III in 2006, Pegg's profoundly depressed mood unexpectedly returned. Pegg admits turning to drinks to dull his mental suffering. His daughter Matilda's birth in 2009, made him realise his dependency and the necessity of seeking treatment.

Pegg on his friendship with Tom Cruise 

Pegg also discussed his friendship with his Mission: Impossible co-star Tom Cruise. Prior to the fifth installment of the franchise, the two had worked in four previous films together. However, Pegg claims he avoids discussing Cruise's membership in the Church of Scientology because he feels it would "abuse my privileged access that I get to him."

The 53-year-old described his relationship with Cruise as “amiable”. He stated how meeting the actual person than the mythology you’ve built around them is two very different things. Cruise is a star and he enjoys the fame. It energises and spurs him. 

On the work front, Simon Pegg's was last seen in Vaughn Stein’s Inheritance, which was released in 2020. The movie starred Lily Collins in the lead role. Following this, he was casted as the voice actor in films like The Sparks Brothers, America: The Motion Picture, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild and Luck.