Simon Pegg 'relishes' the anonymity that comes with living in the countryside

Perth Now

4 days ago

Simon Pegg "relishes" the anonymity that comes with living in the countryside.
The 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' star moved to Hertfordshire from London's Crouch End 13 years ago, and he admits it was the best decision he made, because he can lead a "normal life" and not feel "constantly looked at".
He told Rolling Stone UK magazine: "The thing I relish the most is being at home, and the familiarity of dog walks on a Saturday is nice.
"I really love living in the countryside.
"It's quiet, it's beautiful and it's normal."
Asked if he loves the anonymity it gives him, Pegg - who has daughter Matilda, 16, with his wife Maureen McCann - replied: "One hundred per cent.
"I used to live in Crouch End before we moved here, and I was basically living on the set of 'Shaun of the Dead'.
"Everybody was really nice, and I never suffered any hassle, but I felt visible, and I couldn't really go into any shop or a restaurant without the feeling I was being constantly looked at, and that is of course a residual effect of doing a job which puts you in the public eye, and you have to be prepared for that.
"But you can also mitigate that if it gets a bit overwhelming, and going out to live on a road where no one else lives was a pretty good way of doing that."
The 55-year-old actor has suffered bouts of depression since he was 18, and the actor previously opened up about how he initially struggled to cope when he made the switch to Hollywood in 2005.
He shared: "I was not in a good place, emotionally and physically.
"It was a weird thing as well, because the dreams I'd had as a kid were manifesting and I wasn't happy and I couldn't figure out why. And that was down to personal things, depression. I had to get happy in myself before I could start enjoying anything else. Which I did.
"But at that time it was very frustrating to be there and not be able to fully enjoy it, because I just felt all at sea."
Pegg has found a sense of peace and happiness in recent years.
However, the actor believes that his "demons" are always lurking in the background.
Pegg - whose film credits include 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Shaun of the Dead' - previously told GQ magazine: "What I have come to realise from back then is that depression is always there. No matter what I did.
"I don't think you ever really lose your demons. You just try to find a way to keep them in their place."