Simon Pegg had fun playing creepy bad guy in new movie

Simon Pegg used fake cigarettes on the set of his new film so he could make his voice sound more evil.

The Shaun of the Dead star, who is best known for comedy roles, plays a man imprisoned in a bunker by the late father of Lily Collins' character in new thriller Inheritance, and director Vaughn Stein admits he was impressed by the way Pegg became the creepy character, Morgan Warner.

"The physical transformation that Simon went through for the role was astonishing," the filmmaker says. "We talked about having that sort of prison body, that sort of prison yard workout. It was great to create a character with Simon that you haven't seen him do before and to bring it to life in a way, to be that ripped was amazing. It looked incredible on camera.

"I always wanted him to add more gravel to his voice... We were talking about Hannibal Lecter and he had this raspy voice because of disuse, kind of metallic because he didn't' speak for years. Simon did this amazing voice helped by these fake cigarettes on set."

Pegg, who admits it was "fun" to play "crazy and evil", also confessed he has put all the weight he lost back on during the coronavirus lockdown, thanks in part to Cadbury's Flake ice-creams.

"I work out more so I can have one every day. I got into very, very skinny shape for this movie," he says. "I was working out this morning and I got on the scale and realised I was 12 kilos heavier than when we did the movie. I really made up for it!"