Simon Pegg: Twitter is the future

Simon Pegg thinks his Twitter gets more readers than some newspapers.

The British actor has entertained fans with comedies such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz for years and in 2009 he joined the social networking site, so they could get more of his cheeky personality.

Just today he posted: "School sports day, today. I've been training for this for months. Sack, egg & spoon, three legged, those other dads don't stand a chance. (sic)"

"I resisted Twitter for a long time," Simon laughed to Total Film magazine.

"I didn't get it. Then I dipped my toe in and liked it. It's a very interesting tool. But you have to keep the shop open. Where I am now in terms of followers [4.15 million] is a good number to try to hold onto. It's more readers than some newspapers get..."

The 44-year-old is straying slightly out of his comfort zone with comedy-drama Hector and the Search for Happiness. While there are plenty of funny moments, there is also some serious acting involved, including a scene where his character is held at gunpoint.

"Those scenes were difficult," he says of the darker moments. "It was the first day after the Star Trek press tour and I was thrown into this gut-wrenching near-death experience.

"This film was one of the biggest acting challenges I've ever had. It's not overtly a comedy and it involved some really difficult stuff. But that's really rewarding, y'know' You never don't want to do that kind of stuff."

Simon added that his movie partner Nick Frost is like "family" and that they are already planning their next project together.