With director John C. Donkin’s The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild arriving on Disney+ tomorrow, I recently got to speak with Simon Pegg about voicing the weasel Buck in the newest Ice Age sequel. As you can imagine, talking to Pegg is somewhat of a challenge, because he’s always working on cool projects that you want to talk about, and it’s also easy to geek out about his past work. Thankfully, Pegg is one of those people that’s always game to talk about anything.
During the interview, Pegg revealed what it’s really like behind-the-scenes making an animated movie like Ice Age, why the thinks the franchise has remained popular for so many years, if he’s thought about directing a feature, his thoughts on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, why he’s excited to be part of Peter Kosminsky’s The Undeclared War and how it allowed him to “flex some different muscles and do something different,” and more. In addition, we talked about the status of director Matt Shakman’s Star Trek movie, the way Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise raise the stakes in Mission Impossible 7 and 8, and the first thing someone should watch if they’ve never seen his work.
Watch what Simon Pegg had to say in the player above, or you can read the transcript of our conversation below.
COLLIDER: So a bunch of questions for you, sir. If someone has actually never seen anything that you've done, what is the first thing you want them watching and why?
SIMON PEGG: Oh my God. Probably Shaun of the Dead, just because that was kind of near the beginning, near the inception of everything, and it kind of sets out the stall quite nicely. Yeah, I guess that one.
Which of the films you've been involved with actually changed the most in the editing room, from what you expected to what people saw?
PEGG: That's a good question. It's difficult to say because once you see the finish film, it's hard to remember the original script sometimes. You know what I mean? It sort of rewrites reality. I guess, maybe Ready Player One, perhaps, but maybe I'm thinking about the differences between the book and the script anyway. But the creation process is fluid. It isn't like you make a script. You're constantly making the movie. When you shoot the movie, you then have a kind of visual script, which you then can also rewrite and you rewrite that in the edit. So it's such a fluid process it's hard sometimes to recall the stages of the process, if you know what I mean.
You are obviously a very talented writer, but you have not really directed a feature as far as I'm aware, and I'm wondering if that on the horizon for you.
PEGG: Absolutely. It's something I'd really love to do. And I want to find the right thing. The idea of actually spending some time with a project, more time than I would do as an actor, from maybe even the writing through the pre-production production editing, all that is something I'm really keen to do. I'm just really waiting for something to pop up that feels right. It's got to be the right thing. I've been offered quite a few things, some of which I've developed, some of which haven't been. But I think I'll get there at some point. Then Edgar will see me as an equal.
I really enjoyed Truth Seekers and I'm disappointed it didn't get a second season. Had you and Nick talked about what it would've been?
PEGG: I think there was kind of a plan. The show was written mainly by Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz, and with Nick and I weighing in, Nick more than me. So I think there was a plan, but I don't know. I mean, these things happen and I wasn't massively disappointed to be honest, but there we go.
I just enjoy watching Nick.
PEGG: Yeah, I know.
When you do a movie for Disney Plus, does that come with a lifetime subscription?
PEGG: You'd think. I should go for that. Recently I've been watching a lot of... I really enjoyed Dopesick and the Beatles documentary. Oh my God. I mean, it was just transformative. I loved it so much, but no, maybe I'm going to get my agent on this after. Thanks for making me think of that, Steve.
Listen, also theme park pass. What do you think it is about the Ice Age franchise? Because it's been going now for 20 years. What do you think it is about these characters and this world that so many people respond to?
PEGG: I think it's because in the very true sense of the word, they're family films, they're not only films which can be watched by the whole family, but they are about a family. And I mean that in a genuine... that word gets bandied around a lot, particularly in ensemble films, but you have such different characters and they've all got different ideals and different moral compasses in some ways. The relationships between them are a mirror of everyone's family, because everyone has people in their family that they don't get on with and annoy them. And they love beyond belief and all this kind of stuff. I think the core of the Ice Age films is that. I think that obviously appeals to people because the vast majority of people do have a family.
I'm going to accept that as fact. You've obviously done four of these now, how has the recording proces... has it always been the same on all of these movies or has each film been a little bit different in terms of laying your voice down?
PEGG: Well, this one obviously was extremely different just because of COVID. Although I did my first session, I think in a studio, every subsequent session I did at my home and a group of engineers would come around, they'd set up the whole... the means by which to record and the link with L.A. and then I'd come down and I'd just do it from my house in this very room. So I would just shuffle in here, not wearing any pants and it was a perfect way to go to work.
I've spoken to a lot of people that were recording voices for different things in their closet.
PEGG: Well, I have a room. This is my sort of movie room, so it's quite nice. Acoustics are great. It's got lots of acoustic paneling. It's essentially a screening room. So it's perfect for voiceover. So I lucked out there.
This is, I believe, John's first feature film, the director. I'm curious, what was he like to collaborate with? Because obviously first time getting the keys to the Ferrari. I'm just curious what that was like.
PEGG: Well, I think because John's been attached to the franchise for a long time, he knows the characters very well. This isn't someone who's come in, who's a complete stranger to it. This is someone who knows the universe, knows the dynamic and knows how everyone behaves. And he was great. He had firm ideas and it's always a collaboration when you do animation in so much as you're providing one part of what's seen and then the animators do another. As always the director steers the ship. So he felt like a very solid and kind of inventive captain to me.
For people that are actually not familiar with making an animated movie, what do you actually think might surprise them to learn about the actual filmmaking process?
PEGG: The process begins with all the audio. People tend to think that the animation happens and then people do the voice to the animation. But of course you need to grow everything from the audio. So you see animatics and you see concept designs and you hear about ideas for sequences. And of course you read the script, but what happens is you'll record all of your vocals and then the animators will listen to the vocals, watch the video of you during the session to get inspiration for facial expressions. Then the animation is grown on top of that. Then you come back and you adapt and it becomes very much a back and forth kind of process, but the whole thing begins with the voices.
You have been able to do a lot of cool stuff in your career. What is one of the things that you still can't believe you got to do just as a geek of nerd-dom? Someone who is a fan of Hollywood and a fan of movies?
PEGG: Probably the short period of time that I owned the Millennium Falcon. That's probably up there. I mean, aside from being the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise, that wasn't my ship. Do you know what I mean? That was Jim's. He was the boss, but I actually had the log book and the ownership papers of the Millennium Falcon for how however long it was maybe a couple of months, but that's on my resume now and it's not going anywhere.
Are you watching The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett?
PEGG: Yeah, I absolutely am tuning in.
What are your thoughts on it? I'll just say that I think John and Dave have been doing a phenomenal job.
PEGG: It's like catnip for Star Wars fans. It's really, really... Particularly fans of that era of Star Wars. It's all set round about the time when we all fell in love with that universe and just seeing that world, I mean, that universe expanded, is a delight. It's really good. But I think they've done a very good job of creating something which is very stripped back. I think in other areas of Star Wars, things got very complex and busy. I think with these shows, they've been really good at showing extreme restraint. The last episode of Boba Fett was just a heist, a train heist. It's like a Western. And I think that speaks to how Star Wars started out. It was very simple.
The Undeclared War sounds pretty cool. What can you tease people about it, for people that aren't familiar with?
PEGG: I'm really, really excited. This is a series that I've done for Peacock and for Channel 4 here in the UK, it's written by Peter Kosminsky, who's a multi award winning writer. It's myself, Mark Rylance, Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings. It's a thriller about a cyber-attack on the UK possibly from Russia. It's just a really gripping, exciting, very, very realistic drama series. It was lovely to kind of flex some different muscles and do something different. For me, it was a real treat to be away from the geek verse and the comedy verse, doing something like that.
Obviously like the entire planet. I could not be more excited for a certain Mission Impossible movies, I guess I'll say two films. What are you allowed to say about the next two installments?
PEGG: Benji dies.
That could be true by the way!
PEGG: It could be an elaborate double bluff. You just never know.
A hundred percent.
PEGG: As is always the case, and I think this is down to McQ and Tom just feeling the need to just ratchet it up every time. We've just finished filming one where Tom did some insane things, which I was there for and terrified during, because you just don't know if it's going to be successful. Now we're moving on to the next one where things have been pumped up again. We always joke about it at the end of every film. Well, what are you going to do now? I can never imagine where we're going to go, because it's like, well, we can't do anything more crazy than hanging off a plane. And yet then in Fallout, he does what he did in that. Then in the new one, it just gets crazier and crazier. I'm stoked for it to be... You got to remember though, we have to watch it when it's happening, which is even more gripping.
I think that Tom deserves an Oscar for what he does for these movies. No joke. It's unbelievable what he's willing to do to make the best possible movie.
PEGG: I think in the service of cinema, absolutely. In an era where anything is possible digitally, and obviously beautifully done and it's incredible to see, the idea that the person you're watching is doing the thing that you are watching isn't as common as it used to be. Now Tom kind has really gone to town with that whole the stunts are real thing.
Obviously I'm kind of a Star Trek fan. I think you know that.
PEGG: No, really?
Yeah, Exactly.
PEGG: You've never spoken about it before.
Never. Have you spoken actually to Matt (Shakman) about this next Star Trek movie? What do you know? What can you say?
PEGG: I don't know much. I've met Matt briefly and seems like a great guy. I love the work he did on WandaVision. It's always waiting with these things, because the world is an uncertain place. COVID's thrown everything into a spin. There's so many factors that have to align in order for these things to happen. I'm just quietly waiting for news basically. And I texted J.J. the other day and said, "Tell me what's happening." He's just like, "We're waiting for news."
I understand. I love the fact that Star Trek, it seems like it's really exploding with all the content, it's great.
PEGG: Yeah. I'd love to see more adventures in the Kelvin universe. Obviously, any chance I get to work with those actors is... I'll leap at it, albeit it's going to be a little sad this time, but stay tuned.
On that note. Thank you for your time-
PEGG: Thank you, mate.
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild arrives on Disney+ tomorrow.