Pegg The Prankster

2 min read

10 years ago T'Bonz

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Star Trek into Darkness‘ Simon Pegg had a little fun on the set of the movie courtesy of his “neutron cream.”

Some cast members were taken in by Pegg’s prank, including Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch.

During filming at the Lawrence Livermore National Ignition Facility, Pegg convinced his fellow cast members that it was necessary to don “neutron cream” to avoid radiation from the facility. The only problem was that there was no such thing as “neutron cream” and the cast members were never in any danger of radiation poisoning.

“The neutron cream happened because it simply spiraled out-of-control,” said Pegg. “…I said, ‘Chris, have you got your cream on?” Pegg explained to Pine that he would “get sunburned if you’re not wearing your cream. He fell for it.”

With each new victim, the time wearing the cream grew longer, and more bizarre activities, such as jumping to “shake the ions out of their fingertips,” took place.

Guest star Cumberbatch was “so taken in by it that he complained at lunchtime that the reason that he forgot his lines because of all the positive ions in the air,” said Pegg. “‘I’ve got a bit of a headache [said Cumberbatch]; a lot of the radiation is just getting to me.'”

A fake disclosure form was to let Pegg (and by this point Pine), off the hook by admitting that the cream was fake. “He looked at it and signed it!” said Pegg. “So if you want anything from Ben, just give him a form and he’ll sign it!”