Simon Pegg wants more 'serious' film roles

Simon Pegg has revealed he'd like to take on more serious roles in the future.

The actor joked he is "sick of being funny" after starring in a series of comedy films.

"I'd like to do something serious if I'm allowed to," the British actor said.

"I feel like I have that capacity but it depends if the right script comes along. Audiences sometimes won't let comic actors be serious."

The 41-year-old says fans may not realise that he played a number of more dramatic parts before he was famous.

"I've done a lot of serious work in my time, I did serious drama and theatre when I was younger. Just because no-one saw it doesn't mean I didn't do it."

Pegg told Newsbeat he enjoys taking on projects that are different to what he's used to.

"I just did a script called A Fantastic Fear of Everything, and that was a real challenge and I really enjoyed that," he said.

Coldplay friendship

The actor says film audiences often dislike it when comic actors take on more dramatic roles.

"Will Ferrell is a great example of a guy who people aren't sure about when he does something serious," he said.

"I really loved Stranger than Fiction, which was a serious film he [Ferrell] did, but the audiences didn't turn out so much.

"It's almost like you're not allowed to do serious stuff."

The actor also spoke about his friendship with Coldplay singer Chris Martin, who has previously appeared alongside him on screen.

"He [Martin] was in Shaun of the Dead, he plays himself briefly. His mother-in-law was in Paul as well," Pegg said.

"He's very honest about my films. I got very upset once because I showed him a trailer for one of my films and he didn't seem that keen.

"But he was kind of right. He's incapable of lying."