Simon Pegg, the 56-year-old actor and self-confessed Star Wars superfan, has revealed that his confession of love to the late Carrie Fisher on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was met with a profane and hilarious response. Pegg, who grew up idolizing the original trilogy, played the role of Unkar Plutt in the 2014 sequel.
Childhood Crush Confession
Pegg admitted that Fisher, who famously portrayed Princess Leia, was his childhood crush. He recalled walking arm-in-arm with her around the Resistance base set, chatting about various topics. “She was super smart, Carrie. She’s so kind of humorous,” Pegg said. He noted that returning to Star Wars was overwhelming for Fisher, as the attention she received was both a blessing and a curse.
During their conversation, Pegg became lost in her eyes. “I remember having this realisation that it was the same eyes, you know? It was the same eyes that I’d watched hundreds of times as a kid and a picture I had by my bed and all this stuff,” he explained.
The Savage Reply
Pegg confessed, “Look, you know I’ve always loved you, don’t you?” Fisher grabbed his hand, looked at his wedding ring, and replied, “F*** you!” Pegg described the moment as “cloud nine,” adding, “It was just the fact that if I hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring…” The pair then laughed and became friends, remaining close until Fisher’s death in 2016 at age 60. In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Pegg called that day “the best day of my life.”
Thoughts on AI in Film
Pegg, who has starred in Mission: Impossible and Star Trek films, also shared his views on artificial intelligence in the film industry. Speaking on the Dish podcast, he said, “AI is still, no matter how realistic it looks or sounds, it still has no anima. So there’s no spark in it.” He added that AI actors sound “robotic and without any emotion,” and doubted computers could capture human spark.
Unusual Culinary Experience
During the same podcast, Pegg described the strangest meal he had eaten: maguey worm tacos in Mexico. “They’re just squirming away on your taco,” he said, but noted they “taste amazing.”
