(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Simon Pegg has conquered his fear of spiders as he is the "alpha male" of the house and can't be "running around screaming".

The British actor plays paranoid Jack in A Fantastic Fear of Everything. Simon has compared his own phobia of creepy crawlies to those of his big screen character, but insists he's over it now he is a husband and father.

"Probably not. Just the normal ones," he told Shortlist when asked if he has any "irrational" fears to rival Jack's.

"In the movie, Jack is projecting his childhood trauma on to other things. He's this terrified little animal, but I'm better at dealing with those things. I used to be frightened of spiders, but you have to man up. Since I've had kids I've realised there's no room for irrational fear because you have to be the first line of defence. I'm the spider-catcher in the house now, the alpha male, so I can't be running around screaming at these many-legged things."

Simon enjoys a relatively relaxed lifestyle away from the Hollywood spotlight. The 42-year-old star prefers to shun the attention normally associated with A-list celebrities.

"I don't know. If you want to be that person you can make sure you're in all the right places at the right times," he said.

"If you just go home, go to bed at nine o'clock and read The Hunger Games no one gives a sh*t." (C) Cover Media