Ready Player One star Simon Pegg would ‘love to come to India’ and meet fans here

English actor Simon Pegg has a very unusual connection with India. The actor, who has featured in the Mission: Impossible films, was not present in the country when the entire team was shooting in India for Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol — the film had a scene set in Mumbai, featuring Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor. Yet, a visit to India is on Pegg’s wishlist and he is “thrilled” to learn that he has a lot of “ fans” in India.

“It’s really lovely to hear that [I have a lot of fans there]. India is a country that I haven’t been to, and honestly it’s the topmost in the ‘must visit country’ list for me. We shot for Mission: Impossible 4 in India, but unfortunately, I wasn’t a part of that shoot. I’d love to come to India and interact with some of the fans there,” Pegg tells us over the phone.

The 48-year-old actor reprises his role of Benjamin ‘Benji’ Dunn, an Impossible Missions Force technician who later becomes a field agent, in the sixth instalment of the franchise — the film will release this summer. He reveals that parts of the movie will be based in India. “There are a few scenes from Mission: Impossible six that are based in Kashmir. Obviously, we didn’t shoot there, but some bits of the plot are from India,” says Pegg.

The actor’s latest release, the virtual reality thriller Ready Player One, had him team up with filmmaker Steven Spielberg, something Pegg always dreamed of. “Honestly, more than the film, it was mainly the idea of working with Steven. I’m a big fan of him. I immediately said yes, when I was told that he wanted to sign me for a film. Later, obviously, I found out that it was this film (Ready Player One), which was based on the book that I had already read, and so it became even better for me,” says the actor, who’s also a cast regular in the sci-fi film series, Star Trek, as chief engineer Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott.

Another reason why Pegg worked in Ready Player One was to avoid getting “pigeonholed” as a comic actor. “I don’t worry about getting pigeonholed, but that does not mean it’s not a concern. I never started out as a comic actor, or said that I will only do comedies. Acting is acting, and as an actor, I would like to do a wide range of characters and roles,” says Pegg, known for films such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).

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