As exotic travel destinations go, it depends on what most inspires you. For many, it's the Taj Mahal or the pyramids. The Great Wall of China does it for some, Mecca or Jerusalem for others.

For Simon Pegg, it was the Monroeville Mall.

The writer-star of "Shaun of the Dead," the critically acclaimed and successful 2004 comedy that played off zombie flicks by master George Romero, was not seeking suburban shopping bargains. It was the grisly grail of zombie lovers he sought -- a chance to soak up some residual ambience from Romero's filming of "Dawn of the Dead" at the mall.

Since the Make a Wish Foundation wouldn't be inclined to help, Pegg and his pals got there on their own. The pals included directors Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino. As extras in Romero's "Land of the Dead," they had more than a right to attend the Pittsburgh premiere in 2005 -- and, next day, to check out the mall.

Most memorable impressions?

"The boiler room and the escalators," says Pegg, dreamily, from Hollywood.

The 38-year-old British comedian is on a big U.S. promotional tour for "Run, Fat Boy, Run," which opens today and is what we're supposed to be talking about -- and finally do.

In "Run," Pegg plays a lovable ne'er-do-well, who leaves his pregnant fiancee (Thandie Newton) at the altar but eventually regrets his mistake. In order to win her back, he has to prove himself better than the rich American fitness freak (Hank Azaria) she now plans to marry. How else to do that but to run -- and beat his rival -- in the London Marathon? But he has to find a nonprofit charity to sponsor him, and all the good ones are taken.

The National Erectile Dysfunction Awareness campaign comes to his rescue.

Pegg, for his behind-the-scenes part, came to the rescue of Michael Ian Black's script, rewriting it to add the hilarious character of Mr. Ghoshdashtidar, who trains Pegg for the marathon by slapping him with a spatula.

Pegg's writing as well as performing skills have long been evident in productions with his real-life best friend, Nick Frost. They co-starred in the cult TV sitcom "Spaced" (1999-2001), in "Shaun" and in last year's "Hot Fuzz," a buddy-cop parody involving murder in the British boondocks. Credit Pegg for Frost's best line in that one: When two people's heads are cut off, Frost reports that they were "decaffeinated."

"Run's" director is not Edgar Wright (who made "Sean" and "Hot Fuzz") but David Schwimmer, the "Friends" actor-turned-helmsman in his feature debut. "He was perfectly adept," says Pegg. "His empathy for actors is based on his understanding of what it's like to be in front of the camera."

Gloucester-born Simon Pegg, at age 16, was a drummer in a band called "God's Third Leg." He's a 1991 graduate of Bristol University in theatre, film and television.

A huge "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" aficionado, he says he was thrilled to be cast as Scotty in the forthcoming "Trek" movie -- the 11th! -- which just finished shooting last week. (Chris Pine is the young Kirk, Leonard Nimoy himself plays the old Spock, and Wynona Ryder is young Spock's mother.)

"Secrecy must remain intact because of the auspiciousness of the material," says Pegg, when asked for Trekkie production details. He'll only tell us what we already know -- that Nimoy is "a thoroughly lovely man."

Pegg is similarly circumspect about working, potentially, with that good pal Tarantino: "Quentin has such boundless enthusiasm. But I can't quite say, 'When are you going to put me in one of your films?'"