Simon Pegg memoir reveals his fan boy side

LOS ANGELES, June 18 (UPI) -- British actor Simon Pegg says in his new autobiography science fiction films are a natural for him because he has been a fan of the genre since he was a kid.

Pegg, 41, played Scotty on the recent "Star Trek" film and appears in Steven Spielberg's upcoming summer film "The Adventures of Tin Tin."

He says in his book "Nerd Do Well" he reveled in the adventures of "Dr. Who" and the "Star Wars" gang, particularly Carrie Fisher's iconic Princess Leia, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"I hope that one day we'll meet and I'll be able to relate to her on a sort of even footing as a fellow artist and writer," Pegg wrote. "I'm sure she has absolutely no idea who I am and doesn't even care -- but for me she'll always be my first love."

Pegg told the Times that writing "Nerd Do Well" was a new frontier for him. He had to force himself to sit in his editor's office and buckle down. "I tried to write it between takes on a set. I tried to fit it in between the rest of my life, and that was impossible," he said.

The Times said Saturday that Pegg was in Southern California this weekend for an evening book signing. Eager fans were given wristbands starting at 9 a.m. PDT.