Simon Pegg: It's definitely an interesting situation. What does it mean for you as a creative person to actually have something coming out right now that can offer people an escape? Does it have a little more weight than it might otherwise normally have? There's a lot of uncertainty right now in the industry. So much of it rests on her shoulders and she's so good. Simon Pegg: I think she carries the movie so brilliantly. Most of it is mostly you two, and you both had really good chemistry. I was thrilled to get to do all of those scenes with just me and her. When Lily was cast, it all fell into place. It was fun, and it was Vaughn who I really, really enjoyed working with. I read it and I thought, "Oh this is a great little compact thriller." It's almost like a two-hander. So, Vaughn sent me the script for Inheritance. Simon Pegg: We did Terminal together, and we had such a good time on that film. He's great, but what is it about him that you connect with creatively? Because you guys have obviously got a working relationship going. But I ended up just having a bit more time. I kind of felt like I really should try and prepare for this role, and so that's what I did. I didn't really want to go in there and look well-fed and healthy. But I felt like I needed to at least look like I might have been trapped in the bunker for 30 years. I ended up getting down to, I think 68 kilograms. Sure enough, if you eat less when you move more, you'll lose weight. I worked with my trainer and a nutritionist just to make sure that I wasn't depriving myself of anything or being unhealthy. I was running like about ten kilometers every day, six days a week for three months. I got to a point and kind of just kept going. The film got delayed by a couple of months so I kind of just kept going. What was that process like getting into that kind of shape? Was it, I don't know if I pleasurable would be the right word? You underwent quite the physical transformation for this role. Speaking of different, last year a photo of you circulated. I had done a movie called Lost Transmissions as well, which came out earlier in the year, which is about schizophrenia, and that was very, very different to anything I had done before. This was a good chance to do something a little different. I would hesitate to say exclusively the comedic relief, but they certainly have a comic edge. I think the roles that I've got off the back of the other things I've done have always leaned towards the comedic, even the stuff I've done in Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. There was a period of time when I just wanted to work at the Royal Shakespeare Company. After stand up I drifted into working with other comedy people, and that's sort of what I ended up specializing in. When I graduated from university I went into stand up because comedy was something I loved and it was a good way of having some kind of say over my career. I wanted to be an actor, and that meant doing all sorts of things. Simon Pegg: I never set out to be a comedic actor really, as such. I'm just curious why you hadn't done more stuff like this in the past. Was it just a matter of not having the right thing come your way? Because you were amazing in it. Was doing a role like this something you had always wanted to do. You're certainly not meant to be the comedic relief. Inheritance is unlike anything, at least that I've seen, that you've ever done. We discussed how he got into shape, what makes things click creatively between himself and Vaughn Stein, as well as his hope that the theatrical experience will continue in the future. I recently had the chance to speak with Simon Pegg about the movie.
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