Simon Pegg on 'Losing Friends’ and 'Star Trek’s’ Scotty

In “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People,” opening today in theaters, British comedy actor Simon Pegg — he of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” fame — plays a journalist. Specifically, Sidney Young, based on the real life former Vanity Fair writer Toby Young.

Pegg trades his principles for the opportunity to cozy up with good-looking, famous people — like Sophie Maes, a fictional starlet at the center of the plot.

So, as a “real” journalist, it was interesting to talk with Pegg during a recent press tour stop at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix.

Q: This is the last stop on your current press tour. Having played a journalist, has it been weird talking to journalists about the movie?

A: I genuinely think that because of the nature of the film, with the journalist aspect, it’s been their absolute goal to not be Sidney Young. So everyone’s been really cool, very incisive and I think wanting to establish “I’m a proper journalist, I’m not the (expletive) guy that you played.”

Q: Did past experiences with the press in your films help prepare you at all for the role?

A: I did know how to sit down, take a notepad out of my bag and put the tape recorder on the table since I’ve seen it done so many times. But it did feel weird doing that scene, being on that side of it.

Q: This is your first starring role in a movie where you didn’t have a hand in the screenplay. How was that different?

A: It’s a different kind of experience. I was excited to do it. The whole thing kicked off because a) I really liked the script, and b) the idea of working with (director Robert B. Weide) was exciting, because of his job record, “Curb (Your Enthusiasm)” and stuff. To hand over the reins, to not be so involved in the production, I have to really trust it and the person involved, and I did with this one. It seemed different than what I did before. It was still sharp and still funny, but it was a different kind of comedy. Maybe slightly broader. Not quite so niche as what we do.

Q: It’s definitely a more conventional picture than “Shaun of the Dead” or “Hot Fuzz.”

A: One of the strengths of it is that it is quite conventional. (Screenwriter Peter Straughan) took the book and sculpted a movie structure from it. It’s quite a conventional evolution for a character — he gets somewhere, he doesn’t do well, and then gradually he learns a lesson, he goes on a journey. In that respect, it is a “type” of film. For me to be able to hand over the autonomy that I usually have, I have to kind of be completely comfortable, and I was, to be honest.

Q: One of the “lessons” of the film, it seems, is that celebrities aren’t so great and “real people” are usually nobler. How do you reconcile that, as a celebrity on the rise?

A: I do have a fancy about just going and mending a boat in Greece and run away sometimes, when things get a bit clamorous. I get very positive feedback from people and it’s always nice for people to come and say hello, I’m always grateful. That word “celebrity,” it kind of makes me cringe a little bit. It feels like a self-proclaimed title. If someone says, “I’m a celebrity,” it feels very self-satisfied.

Q: Right. Like, Steve Martin doesn’t have to say, “I’m funny,” and George Clooney wouldn’t say, “I’m handsome.”

A: Usually if people say, “Hey, I’m a real crack-up,” they’re not. You just have to keep a handle on it and know what it is and know why you’re being treated that way and understand it, rather than assume that you deserve it.

Q: Looking towards future projects, you’re in the upcoming “Star Trek” film, playing Scotty. That must have been quite the experience for a noted sci-fi fan like yourself.

A: I never for a second took that lightly. I had a really good time doing that movie, it was phenomenal fun. I never once lost sight of what I was doing. … They’re beloved characters, that people feel like they own. I can understand a certain nervousness when people go off and do something with it. I think the fan fear that is out there for the new “Star Trek” is all about the fear that it might get broken. That really isn’t a concern.

Q: If you’re in future films, are you going to take the same path as original Scotty actor James Doohan and put on some pounds?

A: I think that’s going to happen anyway. It’s just about getting old.