Simon Pegg, known for playing Benji Dunn in Mission Impossible, struggled with alcoholism and depression in the 2000s, and he has now reflected on the impact fame had on the issue
Simon Pegg has opened up about his alcoholism(Image: Getty Images)
Simon Pegg has opened up on his alcoholism battle, reflecting on the role fame played when he was at his lowest.
The actor, who played the fan-favourite IMF technician Benji Dunn in six Mission: Impossible films, battled severe alcoholism and depression, which peaked while filming Mission: Impossible III in 2006. He secretly relied on alcohol to manage long-term emotional pain but eventually entered rehab in 2009 after his daughter was born, maintaining his sobriety ever since.
Now aged 56, Simon has admitted that while fame might have exacerbated his alcoholism at times, it wasn’t the root cause of the problem.
The actor has now said that – contrary to what people often think – being rich and famous is not “the key to happiness” as fame actually poses many problems too. However, asked whether he would still be an alcoholic if he wasn’t famous, he simply replied: “Yes.”
“Fame didn’t cause it – it might have exacerbated it at times and thrown it into sharper relief – but, no, it was in me before and just happened slightly in public rather than in private,” he told The Sunday Times. Simon, who has been sober for 16 years, told the newspaper he would likely be dead by now had he not checked into the Priory – a world-leading alcohol detox and rehab treatment – in 2010.
Simon first publicly shared his struggles with alcoholism in a candid interview with The Guardian on July 9, 2018.
Explaining to The Sunday Times why it took him so long to talk openly about his alcoholism, Simon admitted he felt “nervous” but eventually decided to talk about the issue in the hope that other people could relate. He said: “And it’s not as if I assume that anything I say is of any importance, but if someone found some connection? Great.
“Because going through pain can be very lonely. I was someone people thought was superficially all right, but was not all right and that can make people think, ‘Oh, everyone feels like this – not just me.'”
During his appearance on Desert Island Discs three years ago, Simon detailed how he realised that he was a depressive alcoholic, despite having a successful film star career. He also said that it’s common for people to hide alcoholism, as he reflected: “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,” he told host Lauren Laverne.
“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.”
If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, advice and support can be found at alcoholchange.org.uk
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