Paula Ogonoski is… The Entertainiac

Danny Butterman: “So what made you want to become a policeman?”

Nicholas Angel: “Officer.”

Danny Butterman: “What made you want to become a policeman-officer?”

This time I’m taking my debate to paper and without any liquid courage.

Usually when I get in this debate, my posh friends argue that Dame Judi Dench’s acting prowess affords her the honour, while most of my action-fan friends argue it’s muscle-man Jason Statham. I, however, will advocate, promote and market that it is in fact Simon Pegg. Since about 2004, Pegg plunged his way onto North American movie screens. For most, he’s known as that “funny little Englishman; you know the one with reddish hair.” Yet for the past decade he has time and time again put us into fits of laughter.

Since I have the ability to use a column to prove a point, I will do so by listing the top five reasons why Pegg is the best Hollywood import.

1. He’s hilarious: It’s not surprising that this former comedian would take his comedic- chops from the stage to both the small and big screen as a co-writer and actor of many of his most recognizable project including Hot Fuzz. Also his ability to take an often arrogant-underachieving bloke and make him extremely likeable is a direct result from his ability to make an audience laugh. In How to Lose Friends & Alienate People -one of my favourites- you’re forced to be envious of his many antics including stating that “Con Air is the greatest movie of all time” among the under-enthused Hollywood-elitist snobs.

2. He’s action: Pegg is not shy to hold a gun, mallet, pepper spray; really anything which can be used as a weapon. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz really shows off his zombie destroying, crime-solving self, while still being hilarious. In the newly released The World’s End, Pegg is at it again when a group of buddies band together to recreate an epic pub crawl decades previous, and finds themselves saving the world instead.

3. He’s a major franchise superhero: Pegg has been a major factor in breathing new life into two major franchises: Mission Impossible and Star Trek. His portrayal of the new generation Scotty in Star Trek was spotty on – adding the comic relief to an otherwise adrenaline boosting flick. The same could be said for his addition to the otherwise brooding Mission Impossible franchise. Without Pegg, the otherwise clichéd prequels and sequels would have little to no momentum.

4. He’s heart: Despite his characters often being aloof, he comes through as the hero in the end; after a great lesson has been learned of course. In Run, Fatboy, Run his selfish character takes on a marathon to prove to his son and ex that he has the heart of a champion. While his usual antics will make you laugh; you’ll truly be left with a single tear down your cheek while rooting the underachiever on.

5. He’s voice: Pegg has lent his voice to a number of TV and movies. Some of the most noteworthy include Buck in Ice Age: Continental Drift, Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Thompson in The Adventures of Tintin, and a variety of voices for Robot Chicken and in a variety of video games.