Simon Pegg "relishes" the anonymity that comes with living in the countryside.
The 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' star moved to Hertfordshire from London's Crouch End 13 years ago, and he admits it was the best decision he made, because he can lead a "normal life" and not feel "constantly looked at".
He told Rolling Stone UK magazine: "The thing I relish the most is being at home, and the familiarity of dog walks on a Saturday is nice.
"I really love living in the countryside.
"It's quiet, it's beautiful and it's normal."
Asked if he loves the anonymity it gives him, Pegg - who has daughter Matilda, 16, with his wife Maureen McCann - replied: "One hundred per cent.
"I used to live in Crouch End before we moved here, and I was basically living on the set of 'Shaun of the Dead'.
"Everybody was really nice, and I never suffered any hassle, but I felt visible, and I couldn't really go into any shop or a restaurant without the feeling I was being constantly looked at, and that is of course a residual effect of doing a job which puts you in the public eye, and you have to be prepared for that.
"But you can also mitigate that if it gets a bit overwhelming, and going out to live on a road where no one else lives was a pretty good way of doing that."
The 55-year-old actor has suffered bouts of depression since he was 18, and the actor previously opened up about how he initially struggled to cope when he made the switch to Hollywood in 2005.
He shared: "I was not in a good place, emotionally and physically.
"It was a weird thing as well, because the dreams I’d had as a kid were manifesting and I wasn’t happy and I couldn’t figure out why. And that was down to personal things, depression. I had to get happy in myself before I could start enjoying anything else. Which I did.
"But at that time it was very frustrating to be there and not be able to fully enjoy it, because I just felt all at sea."
Pegg has found a sense of peace and happiness in recent years.
However, the actor believes that his "demons" are always lurking in the background.
Pegg - whose film credits include 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Shaun of the Dead' - previously told GQ magazine: "What I have come to realise from back then is that depression is always there. No matter what I did.
"I don’t think you ever really lose your demons. You just try to find a way to keep them in their place."
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Are NBA players underpaid? Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry argues yes. The greatest shooter in NBA history said Thursday on Complex’s “360 With Speedy” that because the league’s current CBA doesn’t allow for current players to invest in league and team equity, players are leaving money on the table. “I would say, yes, we are underpaid,” Curry admitted when asked, despite enormous salaries, if the players were getting short-changed, “because you wanna be able to participate in that rise [of equity].” “It’s a partnership with ownership, [and] it’s a partnership with the league,” the 37-year-old stressed, revealing that league salaries do not reflect players’ impact on team valuations. If anyone has the right to begrudge the current CBA on player participation in equity, it’s Curry. When drafted in 2009, the Warriors were worth $315 million. Current valuations in May of 2025 have the team at $9.4 billion, the most in the league. Curry’s been paid handsomely during his time in Golden State, and he doesn’t overlook it. “I know we’re blessed to be in a position where we’re playing basketball for a living, and these are the type of checks that people are earning,” he told Complex. However, when he signed his $62.6 million one-year extension in 2024 that would keep him in a Warriors’ jersey until 2027, many felt that no amount of money the franchise could offer him would represent his worth. Curry had an undeniable impact on the Warriors’ valuation increasing by nearly 3,000%. He’s benefited by being the most salaried player on the roster and plenty of endorsement deals. But is he getting his fair share? Something similar may happen with reigning NBA Finals MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just signed the richest contract in league history with an average annual value of $71.25 million. According to Forbes, the Thunder’s valuation increased 20% from 2023 to 2024 and will likely take another jump after this year’s championship. Curry concedes that player participation in equity isn’t a simple concept and not all markets are created equal: “You got competitive advantage considerations…and want every market to have a fair chance, like I get all that.” He believes, however, that finding a solution is a “mutually beneficial proposition” for players, teams and the league. Even the most expensive people in the world need to find other investors to make owning an NBA team possible. The best example of Curry’s point is the Boston Celtics sale in March. The most-championed franchise in league history was sold to Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion, the largest ever sports franchise sale in North America at the time. Chisholm needed Rob Hale, Bruce Beal Jr., and private equity firm Sixth Street, to afford the purchase. Because team ownership is already a multi-investor operation, the league could potentially come to an agreement with the players by the next CBA negotiation at the end of the decade. If not, the league's best players will continue to simultaneously earn a ridiculous amount of money, and it will not be nearly enough.
One veteran NFL defender is ready to trade the football field for the golf course. Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks announced in a post to social media on Friday that he is retiring from the NFL. Hicks is calling it quits after 10 career seasons with four different teams. “I walk away with peace knowing I gave football all I had, and that the best is yet to come,” Hicks wrote in his post. You can see the post in full here. Now 33 years old, Hicks was a third-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2015. He spent the first four seasons of his career with them and was a member of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning team in the 2018 campaign. Hicks later went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Cleveland Browns as well. The former University of Texas star Hicks was one of the more versatile linebackers of his era, capable of playing all three positions (inside, middle, and outside). He tied for third in the NFL with five interceptions during the 2016 season and also later ranked third in the NFL with 150 combined tackles during the 2019 season. Hicks made 12 appearances in 2024 for the Browns but is now content with walking away from the game. He also dealt with a dangerous physical condition that required hospitalization a couple years ago and has thus decided to move onto his next chapter.
The reunion between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Davante Adams in 2024 was brief. After nearly two and a half years apart, the longtime Green Bay Packers duo attempted to rekindle their connection with the New York Jets. Adams worked his way to the Jets early in the 2024 season, dealt from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round pick in October. While the chemistry between them wasn't bad, the results spoke otherwise, as everything spiraled out of control in New York, ending in a 5-12 season. The star receiver was released by the club in March before joining the Los Angeles Rams in free agency, while Rodgers was handed the same fate, signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in June. Adams was asked about Rodgers being his opponent again during an appearance on the "Up and Adams" show on Friday. “Aaron’s got to be happy. I mean, I’m happy for him. We both, we got to try it again together and gave that another shot. That stone wasn’t left unturned; we did what we had to do, and it just obviously didn’t work. Just like for me, I wish him nothing but luck, and I know he’s going to go out there and ball out too,” Adams said. Adams wound up amassing 67 receptions, 854 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games as a Jet with Rodgers, per ESPN stats, averaging 77.6 yards per game, much higher than his previous season in Las Vegas. Two of the legendary quarterback's four NFL MVPs were won with Adams being his top target from 2020 to 2022. At their best, they were borderline unstoppable, though postseason shortcomings haunted them in the end. There's no doubting how good a QB-WR duo these two were in Green Bay; however, all that occurred in New York made it obvious that a change was necessary. The Rodgers-led Steelers and Adams and the Rams will have plenty of eyeballs on them in 2025. Unfortunately for fans, the two teams don't play each other this season... unless they find a way to meet up in San Francisco for Super Bowl LX in February.
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