Shaun of the Dead and Mission: Impossible films star Simon Pegg has revealed he has been diagnosed with ADHD, which he said "confirmed a lot of stuff that I'd been wrestling with". Pegg, 56, who also co-created and starred in films Hot Fuzz, The World's End, and TV series Spaced, said "there was a lot of build-up and suspicion, and it just took a while actually to get there." Speaking on the podcast I'm ADHD! No You're Not, external on Thursday, he said he pursued a diagnosis as he "just wanted to know".
ADHD symptoms focus on three main areas - inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity plus lack of concentration. Although many people may feel like they have some similar symptoms, genetics play an important role in ADHD and a full diagnosis is given to those who are negatively affected on a daily basis. Pegg said he had previously been putting his symptoms down to "just character fault".
The actor and writer also spoke about his mental health, including having clinical depression and struggling to control his drinking, which he said he initially thought had "caused" his diagnosis. "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.
"Maybe over the years with therapy and medication - whatever - I've been treating the symptoms and not the cause of why I feel that way." Pegg 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'." Pegg said his wife has been supportive and 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 and lack of concentration." ADHD has rewired the workplace. This is what it means for bosses and workers Johnny Vegas opens up about recent ADHD diagnosis Richard Bacon: 'Why I quite like my ADHD' Pegg had previously said he felt his poor driving was down to undiagnosed ADHD., external The star, who has had several speeding convictions, told LBC last year that he felt an ADHD diagnosis would help explain his poor concentration when it comes to driving.
He reversed into a post while on holiday in Greece, which prompted him to look up the symptoms of ADHD. "I looked up on the phone 'Do people with ADHD get into more car accidents than people who don't have it' and the answer was yes. "And it's because of a lack of focus and ability to kind of totally focus.
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