As Her Campus collegiettes, we know the value of believing that there is no such thing as an impossible mission (except maybe getting a date with that weirdly charming and ridiculously well-dressed gay guy in your class…ugh, why?), but the concept does make for a timelessly ironic title. On December 21st, Paramount Pictures brings you Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which is the fourth installment of those films where a group of agile, sexy people go out into the world and execute a seemingly futile task. After successfully cutting a circle into the roof of a top-secret building with a stiletto heel and using a cable to descend into a room full of confidential papers (while wearing a black jumpsuit that, while super hot, is only okay to wear when you’re spying), I got my French manicured hands on an interview with one of the “sexy people”.
That’s not quite how I got this information, but how else could I explain my jumpsuit to my fashionable Her Campus team? Anyway, before you’re like, “OMG! You’re so lucky you got to talk to Tom Cruise!” I should probably let you know that it was not him. I mean, how obvious would that be? Here at Her Campus at UCF, we never underestimate other interview-worthy attributes besides universally praised good looks and participation in obscure religions. The other, less-obvious but never-the-less hot qualities of our celebrity cuties include being an insensitive artist (using a twisted sense of humor to find success in writing and comedy), a British accent (sigh), and having a ridiculous amount of money–I mean talent–yeah, talent.
Mmm, Cheerio to you, too!
Born in England, Simon Pegg has a knack for bringing British humor to an American audience, having written and acted in movies like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Paul. Changing his pace, Simon was also in the third Mission Impossible movie playing the role of Benji, who worked in a research department for the Impossible Missions Force and is pretty much the epitome of collegiette™ dating material. “In Mission: Impossible III, I’m pretty hairy and doughy,”he brags, “and I look like a guy who just eats pizza in front of a computer screen.”See? Just like our college boyfriends (swoon!). While we would have loved him for his brains alone, Benji has undergone a few physical improvements between then and Ghost Protocol in order to get out of the lab and kick some ass alongside Ethan Hunt (Cruise).
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
Simon Pegg is Benji in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE–GHOST PROTOCOL from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions.
(c) 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
While you may never see a picture of Simon Pegg half naked on Pinterest like those skinny chicks behind some inspirational diet or exercise quote, he really did transform himself to become a sexy spy: “I did some extensive fight training and weapons training with the stunt team, and, you know, that was hard, but in the best possible way. I lost a load of weight, and I’ve got in shape, and it was a lovely way to do it.” Hmm…maybe we should replace spin with spy at the recreation center. Anyone? Anyone?
Uh, alright…maybe there is a picture of Simon Pegg half naked on Pinterest?
Despite now having an awesome bod, in addition to being alternatively handsome and adorably quirky, Simon Pegg stays humble. When asked how he stays grounded while working with big names like Mission: Impossible 4’s producer J.J. Abrams (Lost) and Steven Spielberg for the upcoming animated film The Adventures of Tintin, he says it’s important to remain a fan of the industry while moderating your behavior. “You don’t have to…squeal over them. You just sort of say hello and nice to meet you, and you behave like a normal human being.” He advises you to wait until you leave the room to jump and scream, kind of like when you go to the bathroom with your bestie after your crush was finally drunk enough to kiss you in the corner of Devaney’s.
With everything Simon Pegg is up to now, he’s definitely somebody to get starstruck over himself. Besides keeping comedy enthusiasts in stitches (the metaphorical kind from doubling over in laughter) and assisting the Impossible Missions Firm in keeping their enemies in stitches (the real kind), he also helped bring the beloved children’s story of The Adventures of Tintin to the big screen (also scheduled for release on December 21st). As Inspector Thompson, Pegg invigorates the classic comic for cinema through motion-capture animation, which allowed the actors to bring the original illustrations to film with all of the emotion and movement of live-action acting. With Spielberg having had the rights to the Tintin estate for over 30 years, Simon believes that this was just the sort of film technology he had been waiting for. “It was done with a huge amount of love and respect for this sort of material,”Simon declared. “We never felt like we trashed anything…we had the whole studio lined with pictures from Herge’s works so…we always had the characters in mind.” Motion-capture also allows animation actors to do more than voice work, performing actions, utilizing facial expressions, and using the same space as other characters but with mostly imagined scenery. If you’ve seen the previews, you understand just what kind of realism is achieved with the method.
Simon Pegg is Thompson and Nick Frost is Thomson in THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, from Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
(c) 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Aside from being beautifully rendered from an animation standpoint, Inspector Thompson may not be much to look at, but you have to admit that Simon Pegg is one of the most delicious gingers (or is he blonde? Whatever.) besides Ron Weasley (Thanks, England!). Besides, I know somewhere deep inside you fashionistas there is a hipster film critic, or at least an inner child with a Hello Kitty complex, just dying to see Tintin. Are animated films not exactly in your budget between club cover and Forever 21? Check out Simon in Mission Impossible 4. If you’re not into the cute, hilarious, and brilliant type, there’s always Tom’s face. Eh, who am I kidding? Consider Simon “pegged”as the new sexy, and make your mission to see these movies on December 21, 2011.