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Star Trek’s Simon Pegg Reveals His Struggle With Depression And Alcoholism


Simon Pegg might be a successful Hollywood actor with important supporting roles in both the Star Trek franchise and in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, but that doesn't mean the Three Flavours Cornett trilogy co-writer and star doesn't have problems of his own.

The Guardian just recently released a profile article on Simon Pegg, a piece which revealed how Star Trek's Mr. Spock struggled with depression and alcoholism even at the very height of his career.

"I would feel like – I'm in a film with Tom Cruise, I've got the part of Scotty in Star Trek," Pegg opened up. "This should be making me feel happy. But it wasn't."

The actor has been struggling with depression since he was 18 and sine 2005 he's been trying to deal with his depression by self-medicating and drinking. According to Pegg, he barely had time to stop and think about what he was going through because of the many projects he had to deal with.

However, after he flew to Los Angeles to work on Mission: Impossible III back in 2006, Pegg became acutely aware that he was "lost, and unhappy, and an alcoholic." However, the actor was afraid of sharing what he was going through, and he used his acting skills to hide his depression from even his closest friends.

"One thing [addiction] does is make you clever at not giving anything away," Pegg explained. "People think junkies and alcoholics are slovenly, unmotivated people. They're not – they are incredibly organized. They can nip out for a quick shot of whiskey and you wouldn't know they have gone. It's as if … you are micro-managed by it. But eventually, the signs are too obvious. You have taken the dog for one too many walks."

Things are different now though, and Pegg feels more comfortable opening up about his experience with depression and alcoholism.

"I'm not ashamed of what happened," he said. "And I think if anyone finds any relationship to it, then it might motivate them to get well. But I am not proud of it either – I don't think it's cool like I was Mr. Rock'n'roll, blackout, and all that shit. It wasn't, it was just terrible."

Depression is a terrible mental disorder. Not only does it strike without warning, it also affects even the most successful members of society. Luckily, the modern world is more aware of what depression does to people, and society has become more sensitive to those affected by it.

Pegg is set to return in the next Star Trek movie by SJ Clarkson. His next Mission: Impossible film, Fallout, is set to premiere on July 26, 2018.

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