Simon Pegg reveals he has ADHD - and says the diagnosis 'confirmed stuff he'd been wrestling with'

Published: 00:16 BST, 9 October 2026 | Updated: 00:17 BST, 9 October 2026

Actor Simon Pegg has been diagnosed with ADHD, he revealed yesterday.

The 56-year-old star said it followed issues he'd been 'wrestling with'.

Pegg - famous for Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead, Star Trek and the Mission: Impossible films - opened up about having the condition on the podcast I'm ADHD! No You're Not, saying he sought a diagnosis as he 'just wanted to know'.

He added: 'It confirmed a lot of stuff I'd been wrestling with and that I'd been attributing to just character fault.'

Pegg has been open about his mental health, including clinical depression.

Speaking of his ADHD, he said: 'I felt like it was something that had come on in later life because I wasn't a naughty child.

'I've had bouts of depression in my adult life since 18 and I thought maybe it had come on with that.

'I assumed ADHD kids were kind of chaotic and difficult and didn't pay attention in school. But there were things I did do as a kid - fidget or whatever - that made me think, 'Maybe I've had this longer than I thought'.'

Simon Pegg has opened up about having ADHD on the podcast I'm ADHD! No You're Not, saying he sought a diagnosis as he 'just wanted to know'

Simon Pegg with his Shaun of the Dead co-star Nick Frost. Speaking of his ADHD, he said: 'I felt like it was something that had come on in later life because I wasn't a naughty child'

Reflecting on how his wife has reacted to his diagnosis, he said: 'She makes allowances for forgetfulness and lack of concentration.' 

Pegg also explained how learning about his diagnosis put his childhood behaviour in perspective, and said: 'I did feel different in a way I might not be able to put my finger on. Maybe everybody feels that way.'

'I just assumed ADHD kids were kind of chaotic and difficult and didn't pay attention in school,' he added.

'But there were other things that I did do as a kid - fidget or whatever - that made me think: Oh no, maybe I've had this longer than I thought.'

Reflecting on how his family has reacted to him having ADHD, Pegg said his wife is 'dealing with it as if I'd been diagnosed ages ago', adding: 'It's just who I am, and it's just things that I do.

'She makes allowances for forgetfulness and lack of concentration.'

Later in the episode, Pegg spoke with hosts Paul Whitehouse and Dr Mine Conkbayir about why he has started to publicly discuss his mental health.

'I was very guarded when I first started out,' the star said.

'I didn't really speak about anything private like this until about 2018 when I made a film about schizophrenia.

'Mental health was coming up a lot in the press chat, and that's the first time I mentioned I had an issue with depression and with drinking.

'I was so bowled over by the amount of people that said, 'Oh, thanks for talking about that'. I was so touched by it.'