Simon Pegg rocked by Rik Mayall's death
Actor SIMON PEGG was torn when his comedy hero RIK MAYALL died earlier this year (14) because he wanted to pay a heartfelt tribute online but feared it would seem self-serving.
The Shaun of the Dead star worked with Mayall during his debut big-screen appearance in the funnyman's 1999 movie Guest House Paradiso.
He admits Mayall was the reason he became a fan of comedy as a child, but when his hero passed away suddenly in June (14) at the age of 56, he was in a quandary about the best way to pay his respects.
Pegg tells Radar magazine, "I worked with Rik on my first film, so it's super-sad... It's funny that the first thing you have is Twitter. I try to lay off writing epitaphs because every time you watch the news, they'll do a list of what you said and what you think and really what does it matter what someone said?
"It's a weird thing projecting everything through the prism of famous people, like that means anything or validates it in any way. I want to say something about Rik Mayall but I don't want it to be used in that way."
Mayall died after suffering an "acute cardiac event" following a run, according to his wife. A post-mortem examination was inconclusive and officials are still investigating the cause of death.