Simon Pegg says unlikely friendship with Tom Cruise helped him navigate fame

Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg has said his unlikely friendship with Hollywood legend Tom Cruise has helped him navigate fame’s impact on his private life.

The actors, 56 and 64, met on the set of the Mission: Impossible films, in which Pegg starred as the agent Benji Dunn alongside Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

“I’ve been able to hack my way through all the bizarre mythology that surrounds him — I like being normal with him,” Pegg toldThe Times of his bond with the star, who’s one of the highest-grossing actors of all time.

Pegg, who has opted to live “in the middle of nowhere” since gaining notoriety, said he’s learnt from Cruise how to be pleasant and kind when strangers approach him in public.

“I mean, he’s not able to go anywhere!” Pegg said of Cruise. “But when he does, he’s very aware of who he is, what it means.

“So, yes, I do look at how he conducts himself and have realised you just have to chill out. Anybody who gets frustrated or rejects people that come up to them to say nice things is an arsehole.”

It’s no wonder Cruise is able to remain relaxed when approached by fans. The daredevil actor has tackled numerous death-defying stunts for his role in the Mission: Impossible series, with one even breaking a Guinness World Record.

During production of the film, the 64-year-old star leapt out of a helicopter 16 times while strapped to a parachute pre-soaked in fuel and lit ablaze.

Each time he then cut away the charred remnants of the burnt chute before safely deploying a backup.

It is not Cruise’s first Guinness World Record. He also holds the record for the actor with the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies.

In total, the Top Gun star has been credited in over 30 films that have broken the $100 million mark at the box office. The last 11 of those have been consecutive, starting with Jack Reacher in 2012.

Cruise is well-versed in stunt work with the previous Mission: Impossible films having shown the actor climbing the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, jumping off a cliff, and clinging to the roof of a speeding train.