Nerd Do Well

by Simon Pegg

First published 2011

Simon Pegg opens his story as a science fiction obsessed kid performing comedy routines for his twelve year old classmates every Monday morning. He already shows signs of what he calls a severe and dangerous case of the funnies. Pegg chronicles his unlikely rise from British comedy circuits to international stardom through films like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Star Trek. He recounts working as a city pool lifeguard, attending Comic-Con for the first time, and the mortifying moment he confessed to Carrie Fisher that he used to kiss her photograph nightly before bed. The memoir follows his enduring friendship with Nick Frost and his collaborations with directors including Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Quentin Tarantino. Pegg navigates the strange terrain between his childhood dreams and adult reality, from zombies terrorizing North London to standing on the Enterprise engineering deck. His journey reveals how a self-proclaimed supergeek transformed obsession into career success while maintaining his fundamental love for the stories that shaped him.

Genres: autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, comedy

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, rags-to-riches

Setting: Comic-Con, North London, United Kingdom

Period: 21st-century

356 pages · Hardcover · Avery

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