Yvonne’s gang: Jessica Hynes, Martin Freeman, Reece Shearsmith, Tamsin Greig, Julia Deakin and Matt Lucas.

THE DOPPELGANG

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)

WORDS CHRIS HEWITT

Shaun’s gang (from left): Nick Frost, Penelope Wilton, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Kate Ashfield, Simon Pegg.

Shaun’s gang on the prowl;

A hug from Shaun (Pegg) for Yvonne (Hynes);

Doppelgängers Ed (Frost) and Cousin Tom (Lucas).

IT LASTS ROUGHLY a minute and consists of only a handful of shots (and none of Edgar Wright’s trademark visual wizardry), yet the moment in Shaun Of The Dead when Simon Pegg’s hapless hero and his group of survivors round the corner and bump into another group is possibly the film’s most ambitious gag. Mainly because the other gang is played by a who’s who (then and now) of British comedy: Martin Freeman, Reece Shearsmith, Tamsin Grieg, Spaced mainstay Julia Deakin, Matt Lucas and, at the vanguard, Pegg’s Spaced co-creator, Jessica Hynes. A finer cavalcade of cameos, you’ll never see.

Edgar Wright [co-writer/director]: We used to call it ‘Shaun Of The Dead Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’. You’re watching one story and the idea is, “What if they bumped into another film?”

Simon Pegg [co-writer/Shaun]: We just thought it’d be funny if Shaun met a bizarro version of his own group. And we immediately thought, “Well, let’s try and cast people that are perceived as our counterparts, in a way.” You know, me and Martin were always going out for the same roles.

Kate Ashfield [Liz]: I remember thinking, “I’m glad [my counterpart] is Martin Freeman, because I think he looks as intelligent as Liz. He looks like he could handle the situation.”

Reece Shearsmith [Mark]: I did the very early read-through of Shaun Of The Dead. It wasn’t definite, but they had me going that I was going to be David. Maybe I really was, because I ended up doing the crossover bit.

Wright: Reece had been one of the people to maybe play David. It’s tough when your friends are in the running. But nobody should take things personally. It’s just the way things shake out.

Dylan Moran was a really interesting choice for David. And I came back to Reece saying, “Hey, I know you didn’t get this, but would you do this?”

Pegg: We filmed it all in North London, apart from the exterior of the Winchester.

Nick Frost [Ed]: It was Finchley. Maybe Hendon-y way as well.

Shearsmith: That day was in the back gardens of Finchley on this very rainy day. There are some pictures of us all under brollies, because it was pissing down and we had to keep stopping.