This weekend see’s the release of THE WORLD’S END, the final installment of Edgar Wright’s ‘Three Flavours Cornetto‘ trilogy. You’ll notice several themes, motifs and jokes are woven between all three films, but none are more evident than the cast. Wright and Pegg have a proclivity for casting their mates, going all the way back to SPACED. And with chums like these, who could blame them.
Part One can be read here. Have a Part Two. And a Bourbon.
PETER SERAFINOWICZ
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead,
Well fuck-a-doodle-doo! You’ll probably recognise his face but you will certainly recognise his voice. He is probably most famous for providing the vocals for Darth Maul in STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE, which he recycled to wonderful effect in SPACED and BLACK BOOKS. His best work has been on Science spoof LOOK AROUND YOU, featuring a plethora of folks from the Cornetto-verse, and as his alter-ego Brian Butterfield.
CORNETTO MOMENT:
The paintball face-off between his ultra-douche Duane Benzie and underdog Tim is one of the greatest pastiches in all of television comedy. You know what? Just watch.
RELATED APPEARANCES:
It’s Kevin, Look Around You, Black Books, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, I’m Alan Partridge.
REECE SHEARSMITH
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End
One quarter of The League of Gentlemen, Shearsmith is best known as the psychopathic Papa Lazarou. But in the Cornetto-verse, he plays an antagonist of sorts in all three three appearances. In SPACED, he’s Dexter; The moustachioed Robot Wars nemesis of Mike. In SHAUN, he’s in Jessica Stevenson’s alternative team as Mark; the mirror for Dylan Moran’s David. So again, probably a sod. He’s seen in the pub in THE WORLD’S END trailer telling the boys to be on their way. So one more time, he’s on the opposing side to our heroes. And he does it so well.
CORNETTO MOMENT:
This bit.
RELATED APPEARANCES:
Burke and Hare, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
JULIA DEAKIN
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz
The fantastic Julia Deakin holds the honour of being only one of three people to feature in SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ and every episode of SPACED. The other two are Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. She pops up among Jessica Stevenson’s alternative crew in SHAUN and as a shotgun wielding member of the NWA (Neighbourhood Watch Alliance) in FUZZ. Will she show up in THE WORLD’S END to complete the series? I hope so.
CORNETTO MOMENT:
Her portrayal of Marsha Klein in SPACED is an absolute joy. She could have been a caricature of horny, middle aged, single women who like to drink and smoke and fuck. But it is testament to the writing of Stevenson and Pegg and Deakin’s performance that her character is so well rounded and sympathetic, which is best displayed in the scene where she tells Daisy about her past as a runner, how she met her husband and her first drink. The saddest moment in the series and one of the best. Which is saying something.
RELATED APPEARANCES:
The Peter Serafinowicz Show, I’m Alan Partridge, Big Train.
KEVIN ELDON
Spaced, Hot Fuzz
Ladies and gentlemen, It’s Kevin. The man has made his career being a supporting player in his mates work, not unlike Mark Heap. Quite often, he is the foil to Nick Frost, notably in little-seen sitcom HYPERDRIVE and upcoming dance comedy CUBAN FURY. He’s a sketch show veteran, starring in BIG TRAIN, JAM and BRASS EYE but he recently, finally, got his own. He’s clearly a popular bloke, as the list of guest stars reads like a Who’s Who of British comedy; Adam Buxton, Simon Munnery, Matt Berry, Felicity Montagu, Stewart Lee, Rufus Jones, Amelia Bullmore, Johnny Vegas, Paul Whitehouse, Julia Davis, Bridget Christie and his longtime collaborators Paul Putner and Bill Bailey.
CORNETTO MOMENT:
In SPACED he has a Hugo Weaving-Off with Mark Gatiss, but his biggest film role so far has to be as Sergeant Tony Fisher in Hot Fuzz. A relatively passive policeman, he is happy for new comer Nick Angel to take control, but at the siege of Somerfield, it’s Fisher that lays down a plan of attack that the SWAT(ish) team use to bring down the bad guys. In Somerfield. Bloody Hell it’s a great film.
RELATED APPEARANCES:
Black Books, Big Train, Jam, Brass Eye, Hyperdrive, Cuban Fury, I’m Alan Partridge, Look Around You
There are so many others that we just don’t have the bandwidth for, so here’s a quick round up.
RAFE SPALL
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz.
Son of the legendary Timothy Spall and romantic lead in waiting, young Rafe has done alright recently. Though he may have been in PROMETHEUS, we first noticed him as Shaun’s annoying employee who ‘Got mashed, mate.’ He then graduated to DC Andy Cartwright in HOT FUZZ and even popped up in Edgar Wright’s GRINDHOUSE trailer, DON’T!
PADDY CONSIDINE
Hot Fuzz, The World’s End
The other DC Andy in Wright’s cop caper, Considine is about to do ‘The Golden Mile’ with Pegg, Frost, Freeman and newcomer Eddie Marsan in THE WORLD’S END. This sentence has not been funny, let’s hope it’s been informative.
PAUL PUTNER
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead
Like Heap and Eldon, Putner is one of the most recognisable faces in British comedy, even if hardly anyone knows his name. He’s something of a cult hero, with a resume including;
Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle,
The Peter Serafinowicz Show,
Little Britain,
Rock Profile,
Look Around You,
Black Books,
and of course, a zombie in SHAUN and a paintball victim in SPACED. He’s also a lovely chap.
KEVIN & NICK WILSON
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz
They’re the twin zombies in SHAUN. I know, right? What’s more, they’re the cleaver-throwing twins behind the meat counter in FUZZ. Wright has gone on record saying that he wants those appeared in the first two films to feature in the final installment. Can we expect to see two burly, bearded brothers in THE WORLD’S END? We reckon so.
SIMBA MASAKU
Shaun of the Dead
He’s the black zombie outside The Winchester. You know the one I mean. Also, he’s one of my best friends and is now in incredible shape, writing and making his own films whilst being a personal trainer. Just thought you’d like to know.
ADAM & JOE
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz
The duo behind the world’s best podcast (suck it, Gervais) are very much linked into the Cornetto-verse. Adam Buxton features heavily as the doomed, and not very good, journalist Tim Messenger in FUZZ. Joe Cornish pops up and is promptly shot down as a zombie at the denouement of SHAUN. Doesn’t sound like much? Well Cornish co-wrote THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN with Edgar Wright, which had Pegg and Frost as The Thompson Twins. Cornish also wrote and directed ATTACK THE BLOCK, which was produced by Wright and starred Frost. And he is co-writing the upcoming ANT MAN for Marvel which is to be directed by, you guessed it, Edgar Wright.
GARTH JENNINGS
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz
The writer and director is a close friend of Edgar Wright’s and they have a deal to cameo in each others films. Wright played a metal work teacher in SON OF RAMBOW and a technician in THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. While Jennings was a crack addict in FUZZ and the zombie on a bouncy castle, chasing meat to the sound of Keith Chegwin’s laughter in SHAUN. We can expect a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him part in THE WORLD’S END.
EDGAR WRIGHT
Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz
Unsurprisingly, the bearded auteur has cameoed in his own productions. He is one of Daisy’s stoned ex-housemates in the first episode of SPACED and is one of many big-name, uncredited voiceovers in SHAUN, along with Robert Popper, Mark Gatiss, Julia Davis, Peter Baynham and Rob Brydon. He is most easily spotted, though, as a shelf stacker in FUZZ, which is also his only speaking, onscreen role (apart from on LOOK AROUND YOU, in which he asks a brain in a jar to take a quiz.. We at THN would bet every Cornetto we have that he’ll be seen somewhere in THE WORLD’S END.
Click here for Part One of this feature.
Who else from this list will feature in the final installment of ‘The Three Flavours Cornetto‘ trilogy? You can find out this weekend. If you can think of anyone else who deserves entry, let us know below.
THE WORLD’S END is directed by Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Paddy Considine. It is out now in the UK and 23rd August in the US.
How’s THAT for a slice of fried gold?
