Pegg: "I can't f***ing help myself on Twitter"

Simon Pegg has admitted in an interview with 'The Times newspaper' that he can't suffer fools silently on Twitter.

"Sometimes, he says ruefully, "the worst thing you can do on Twitter is respond to them because that's what they want… Sometimes I can't f***ing help myself. because I think: 'Well, do you know what? F*** you. If someone says something simply out of mean spirits to me on Twitter, occasionally I'll bite back and tell them to get f***ed because why the hell should I stand there and take it?"

["Shaun of the Dead was apology to my ex-girlfriend"]

His account has three million followers, and it is where he voices his true thoughts, and slaps down negative comments with remarks such as "Go f*** yourself you inordinate fool."

He admits: "I kind of enjoy it as well. Sometimes it's kind of fun to have a fight with someone."

When a tweeter called Bryony ticked him off for bad grammar, he  sent her a message: "It's my f***ing sentence, you hapless drone."

[The World’s End featurette: Pegg and Frost on ‘genius’ Edgar Wright (Exclusive)]

Such candour is refreshing when Pegg has worked hard to clean up his act, and tends to give rather bland interviews these days.

The 'Hot Fuzz' and 'World's End' star, 43, gave up drinking four years ago with the birth of his daughter. "Suddenly he says "drinking didn't feel right to me. It felt dangerous. Because - like it has so many people - it could have just eaten me up."

Giving up booze also helped him slim down for 'Mission Impossible 4' opposite Tom Cruise.

He claims Cruise is "very approachable and far more human than you expect him to be". But that Cruise gives 100 percent focus and has sacrificed a lot. "Not room for really much else," he says delicately.

"I couldn't personally give everything to my career," he adds. "I think Tom is so guarded to maintain what he got."

'The World's End' is out on Friday.