90 Fun Facts About Shaun of the Dead

How do Shaun's group get past the horde to reach their pub in Shaun of the Dead?

Acting like zombies: the act holds until Ed pauses to chat on his phone, and the shouting match that follows draws the horde's attention.

In the opening scene of Shaun of the Dead, what is Ed playing in the pub?

A fruit machine: during the siege Ed feeds the pub's machine again, and its racket draws the zombies straight to them.

Which cast member made his film debut in Shaun of the Dead?

Nick Frost was waiting tables at a North London Chiquito when he met Pegg, who went on to co-write a part for him in Spaced.

What is the name of Shaun and Ed's favourite pub in Shaun of the Dead?

The Winchester: the rifle over its bar, which Shaun had insisted was fake, turns out to work during the siege.

In Shaun of the Dead, Kate Ashfield plays which character?

Liz: she dumps Shaun when his anniversary plans collapse into yet another night at the pub with Ed.

In Shaun of the Dead, what is Bill Nighy's character Philip to Shaun?

His stepfather: after years of friction, the bitten Philip tells Shaun he always loved him and asks him to look after his mum.

Who plays Shaun's mother, Barbara, in Shaun of the Dead?

Penelope Wilton: Barbara keeps quiet about a zombie bite, and after she turns in the pub, Shaun is forced to shoot her.

In Shaun of the Dead, how is Dylan Moran's character David connected to the others?

Liz's housemate: when Shaun accuses David of being in love with her, it's Dianne who admits she has always known.

Which actress from The Office plays Dianne?

The cast was stacked with faces from Spaced, Black Books and The Office.

In Shaun of the Dead, which character does Jessica Stevenson, Pegg's Spaced co-creator, play?

Yvonne: after the pub siege, she turns up with the British Army and leads the last survivors to safety.

Which piece of sports gear does Shaun wield against zombies for much of Shaun of the Dead?

A cricket bat: armed with it and Ed's spade, Shaun sets off to rescue his mum from the outbreak.

Why does Ed deliberately crash Pete's car in Shaun of the Dead?

To drive Philip's Jaguar: the Jag carries them on, until Philip dies of his bite and they have to abandon it.

At which London studio was the film partly shot?

The shoot ran nine weeks in the summer of 2003, split between the studio and location work in North London.

Shaun of the Dead is set in which North London neighbourhood?

Crouch End: yet Shaun's beloved local pub was filmed miles away across the city, a real trek from his screen flat.

Which real pub stood in for Shaun and Ed's local in Shaun of the Dead?

The Duke of Albany, New Cross: the pub where the undead besieged Shaun has since closed and been converted into flats.

Which Queen song plays from the jukebox while the survivors beat the pub landlord with pool cues in Shaun of the Dead?

Don't Stop Me Now: it comes on at random mid-fight, so Shaun yells at David to 'kill the Queen', meaning the jukebox.

Which artist told Wright they could 'trash Diamond Life without hesitation' in the record-throwing scene?

Wright later put one of her songs into Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and joked that he owed her some publishing money for the album he destroyed.

In Shaun of the Dead's record-throwing scene, Ed's first throw shatters an 'original pressing' of which record?

Blue Monday: Shaun wails that it was an original pressing, yet soon lets Ed hurl the Batman soundtrack.

Which band's album does Shaun okay with 'Throw it' in Shaun of the Dead's record-throwing scene?

Dire Straits: but when Ed reaches for the Stone Roses next, Shaun flatly refuses to let that record go.

Which real British talk-show host appears in Shaun of the Dead, grilling a guest who still loves her undead husband?

Trisha Goddard: she hosts two made-up episodes of her real show, Trisha, and asks the zombie's wife, 'You go to bed with it?!'

Shaun of the Dead's score by Pete Woodhead and Daniel Mudford is a pastiche of zombie soundtracks from which country?

Italy: the soundtrack album also remixes 'The Gonk', a cheery stock-library tune George Romero had used in one of his own zombie films.

Which flavour of Cornetto does Ed eat in Shaun of the Dead, kicking off the trilogy's running joke?

Strawberry: Wright wrote it in as Ed's hangover cure because a Cornetto is his own real-life hangover cure.

Which two films complete the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy?

Hot Fuzz and The World's End: each Cornetto's colour matches its film, blue for the police in Hot Fuzz and green for the aliens of The World's End.

The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy's name riffs on which European director's trilogy?

Krzysztof Kieślowski: when a journalist noticed Cornettos in two films, Wright joked the trio would be like his Three Colours trilogy, and it stuck.

In April 2020, a photo of lockdown protesters outside which state's capitol trended for echoing Shaun of the Dead's poster?

Ohio: the Columbus Dispatch photo showed protesters pressed against the Statehouse's glass doors, like the zombies at the windows on the poster.

How did George A. Romero first watch Shaun of the Dead?

Alone in a Florida cinema, apart from a security guard Universal had sit in with him; he then phoned Wright to give his blessing.

In Shaun of the Dead, what does Shaun first assume about the girl he and Ed spot outside their house?

That she's drunk: when she pins Shaun down, Ed dashes inside for a camera and snaps a photo instead of helping.

Which horror novelist called the film 'a 10 on the fun meter and destined to be a cult classic'?

Quentin Tarantino, for his part, listed it among his twenty favourite films made since 1992.

Which event Edgar Wright missed by ignoring the news for a fortnight inspired Shaun of the Dead?

He turned on his TV one day to footage of cattle being burnt and had no idea why, which became Shaun channel-hopping past the apocalypse.

In Shaun of the Dead, what does Shaun use to impale a zombie attacking his mum as they cut through the neighbourhood?

A swingball pole: he pins the zombie with it, then snaps 'Feel free to step in anytime!' at Ed and David, who just stood watching.

In Shaun of the Dead's final scene, where is the zombified Ed kept?

In Shaun's garden shed: six months on, Shaun keeps his undead best friend tethered there and still plays video games with him.

What does Shaun's final escape scheme in Shaun of the Dead have them drink at the pub?

A nice cold pint: the first scheme ended with a nice cup of tea at his ex's place, until Ed said he wanted somewhere he was allowed to smoke.

In Shaun of the Dead, why does Shaun tell Ed not to say the 'z' word?

Because it's ridiculous: yet when Shaun peers out and sees an empty street, he turns his head to find the horde right there.

In Shaun of the Dead, which observation do various characters keep making to Shaun?

You've got red on you: the running line later became the title of Clark Collis's book on how the film was brought to life.

Which tagline appears under the title on Shaun of the Dead's British poster?

A romantic comedy with zombies: even as the dead rise, Shaun sets out to rescue the girlfriend who just dumped him.

In March 2020, Shaun and Ed returned in a lockdown public service video with what title?

The Plan: in the film the pair ignore advice to stay indoors and head for the pub, but this time Shaun tells Ed to stay in.

A poster for which never-made sequel appears in Times Square in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse?

Co-director Rodney Rothman asked Wright for a film he might theoretically have made in that universe.

In 2013 researchers Witkowski and Blais used the film's zombie outbreak as an example for modelling what?

Their Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo model also drew on Romero's original Dead trilogy.

In Shaun of the Dead, when Pete calls Ed's music hip-hop, what does Ed insist it actually is?

Electro: Ed then sulks 'Next time I see him, he's dead', and the next time they see Pete, he is.

In Shaun of the Dead, what does Shaun leave too late to book for his anniversary date?

A restaurant table: the last one has just gone when he rings, and after yet another broken promise his girlfriend dumps him.

Which Oscar winner met the Shaun of the Dead team about playing Shaun's girlfriend, then said no?

Kate Winslet was approached for the part, and Edgar Wright admitted afterwards that he was relieved she passed, fearing her fame would capsize a small British zombie film.

After Shaun of the Dead, which blockbuster did Simon Pegg joke he would never make, then join?

Mission: Impossible III was Pegg's off-the-cuff example of a Hollywood job he would never take, yet he ended up in it as technician Benji Dunn and kept the role through the sequels.

Which band's singer and guitarist cameo in Shaun of the Dead backing the fictional charity ZombAid?

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is a close friend of Simon Pegg, who is godfather to Martin's daughter, so he and Jonny Buckland turned up to front a charity appeal for the undead.

Which Disney cartoon revived Shaun and Ed from Shaun of the Dead for a 2014 Halloween special?

Phineas and Ferb drew the pair in cartoon form, with the original two actors returning to voice Shaun and Ed a decade after the film came out.

Which horror game series, played late one night by Edgar Wright, helped spark Shaun of the Dead?

Resident Evil kept Wright up late, and he stepped outside afterwards wondering how an ordinary Briton would react to a zombie apocalypse.

Why did Edgar Wright have Ed ask for a morning Cornetto ice cream in Shaun of the Dead?

His own hangover cure was a Cornetto, so Ed gets one after a heavy night; free cones at the film's after-party then tempted Wright to repeat the joke in his next film.

What does Dianne wield as she charges into the horde late in Shaun of the Dead?

David's severed leg is what Dianne grabs after the horde drags him out through a window, and a comic strip on the DVD went on to explain how she survived her charge.

Which Danny Boyle film is teased in Shaun of the Dead when a newsreader dismisses infected monkeys?

28 Days Later has its rage virus start with monkeys in a laboratory, so the news report Shaun watches near the end is a sly wink at Britain's other outbreak film.

Which Dame declined to play Barbara in Shaun of the Dead, saying she preferred funnier characters?

Helen Mirren was originally approached to play Shaun's mum, and turned it down with a note saying she would prefer one of the funnier parts.

What does Shaun sell at work in Shaun of the Dead, in scenes shot at a real North Finchley store?

Electrical appliances are Shaun's trade as a sales advisor whose colleagues show him no respect, and the store seen on screen is a genuine North London business.

In Shaun of the Dead, flatmate Pete comes home with a bite wound that he blames on which attacker?

A mugger is who Pete says bit him, and by the next morning he has turned, so Shaun and Ed escape the house by stealing his car.

Which voice of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace plays Shaun's uptight flatmate in Shaun of the Dead?

Peter Serafinowicz voiced the Sith villain five years before playing the flatmate who berates Shaun for leaning on Ed and tells him to get his life together.

Which British company behind Notting Hill picked up Shaun of the Dead, which mocks its rom-coms?

Working Title Films took the project on after the first backer's budget was cut, an irony Wright enjoyed, and during the wait he refused other directing work and ran into debt.

Which future Life of Pi actor plays Noel in Shaun of the Dead, his first of three films for Wright?

Rafe Spall, son of the actor Timothy Spall, returned for both of the follow-ups in Wright's ice-cream trilogy before playing novelist Yann Martel in Life of Pi.

Which actor, Tim in The Office, has a brief non-speaking role as Declan in Shaun of the Dead?

Martin Freeman appears for a moment as the boyfriend of Shaun's friend, the first of his roles across all three films of Wright and Pegg's ice-cream trilogy.

Only Airplane! and which Monty Python film beat Shaun of the Dead in Channel 4's 2006 comedy poll?

Life of Brian and Airplane! were the only two films placed above it, putting Shaun of the Dead third on Channel 4's list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films two years after its release.

Which American director named Shaun of the Dead among his twenty favourite films made since 1992?

Quentin Tarantino's list ran from 1992, the year of his own directing debut Reservoir Dogs, and the British zombie film made his top twenty.

Which prison drama beat Shaun of the Dead to first place in a 2011 BBC Radio 1 favourite-film poll?

The Shawshank Redemption topped the vote by listeners of Radio 1 and 1Xtra, with the zombie rom-com as runner-up seven years after its release.

Which Cameron Diaz film gives its title to Shaun of the Dead's tie-in comic on the first zombie?

There's Something About Mary fits because the zombie is called Mary, and the strip follows her through the day before the outbreak to show how she turned.

Juan of the Dead, a 2011 film inspired by Shaun of the Dead, unleashes its zombies on which country?

Cuba was sold its first zombie film with Juan of the Dead, in which the authorities insist the undead are really dissidents in the pay of the United States.

At which film festival was Shaun of the Dead first announced in 2002, two years before its release?

Cannes hosted the announcement, yet the cameras did not roll until the following May, for a nine-week shoot across London.

Which American sci-fi, fantasy and horror honours named Shaun of the Dead their Best Horror Film?

Saturn Award voters gave the British film their horror prize, one of several wins that also included Best British Film at the Empire Awards.

Which horror prize did Shaun of the Dead's script share with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

Bram Stoker Award voters at the Horror Writers Association could not separate the two scripts, so the prize named after the author of Dracula went to both.

Which old argument between Shaun and Ed is settled during the pub siege in Shaun of the Dead?

Whether the bar's rifle works is settled when Shaun finds that the gun mounted above the bar really is functional, in the middle of fighting off the zombified landlord.

What is Ed doing outside the pub in Shaun of the Dead when he attracts the zombie horde's attention?

Using his mobile phone is how Ed wastes time at the worst moment, sparking a row with Shaun that brings the horde down on a group that had almost reached safety.

Who arrives at the burning pub in Shaun of the Dead to gun down the horde and rescue the survivors?

The British Army turns up with an old friend of Shaun's, whose own band of survivors he had met earlier that day, and takes Shaun and his girlfriend to safety.

How do Shaun and his girlfriend get out of the pub cellar at the climax of Shaun of the Dead?

On a keg lift that opens onto the street, the couple rise out of the cellar while Ed stays behind to buy them time.

Six months after the outbreak in Shaun of the Dead, what are the surviving zombies put to use as?

Labour and entertainment are the zombies' new roles once normality returns: the undead do unskilled jobs for nothing, a punchline to the film's jokes about mindless routine.

Which Alfred Hitchcock film did Wright and Pegg cite as an inspiration for Shaun of the Dead?

The Birds sits on a list of inspirations that also takes in Back to the Future, and the pair then wrote the whole screenplay in eight weeks.

Which Peter Jackson zombie film did Simon Pegg call a main influence on Shaun of the Dead?

Braindead, released in the United States as Dead Alive, is singled out in Pegg's autobiography Nerd Do Well, and he and its New Zealand director became friends.

The actor who plays Ed in Shaun of the Dead was doing which job when he first met Simon Pegg?

A waiter at a North London branch of Chiquito, he became Pegg's close friend and flatmate, and their years of living together shaped the Shaun and Ed dynamic.

Who joined the Shaun of the Dead shoot as fifty extra zombies after spotting the makeup on set?

Local children saw the zombie makeup and wanted to be involved, adding about fifty small undead to a crowd of more than 150 extras.

What happened in 2008 to the real London pub that played Shaun's haunt in Shaun of the Dead?

Turned into flats after closing, the three-storey Victorian pub is gone, so fans can no longer order a drink where the film's bar scenes were shot.

Where is Shaun going in the Shaun of the Dead scene based on Edgar Wright's own dazed morning walk?

To the shop and back, Shaun fails to notice the apocalypse around him, just as he and Ed skip past the news reports on television.

Which staple of American zombie films did Edgar Wright note Shaun of the Dead's Britons would lack?

Firearms are rare in British homes, so Wright wondered how ordinary people would fight back and armed his survivors with whatever household objects were to hand.

Which hit by The Specials plays in the opening scene of Shaun of the Dead?

Ghost Town reached number one in 1981 while riots were breaking out in British cities, and here its eerie mood introduces a London that already looks half-asleep.

Besides the pub-fight anthem, which Queen single by John Deacon is heard in Shaun of the Dead?

You're My Best Friend was written by Queen's bass player for and about his wife, but in this film it suits the bond between Shaun and Ed.

Edgar Wright's first feature, made nine years before Shaun of the Dead, was a spoof of which genre?

Westerns were the target of A Fistful of Fingers, a low-budget 1995 spoof Wright was unhappy with, though it caught the eye of comedians who chose him to direct for television.

Which first-person shooter are Shaun and Ed seen playing on their console in Shaun of the Dead?

TimeSplitters 2 came from the British developer Free Radical Design, a fitting time-waster for Ed, Shaun's unemployed slacker of a best mate.

Oscar Wright, who drew the Shaun of the Dead DVD's comic strips, is which relative of the director?

His brother Oscar, a graphic artist, drew the black-and-white strips, which play on the disc with the voices of the film's two writers.

What is odd about the second band of survivors Shaun's party runs into in Shaun of the Dead?

They are lookalikes of his own companions, member for member, and the woman leading them is an old friend of Shaun's.

Which 1980s sitcom led the makers of Shaun of the Dead to its star when casting Shaun's mum Barbara?

Ever Decreasing Circles ran from 1984 to 1989, and the filmmakers turned to its co-star only after their first choice for the part had said no.

Where did Shaun of the Dead posters make zombie-packed train carriages seem to wait on the tracks?

London Underground stations carried the posters, sited so that anyone walking between platforms seemed to glimpse a carriage crammed with zombies waiting on the tracks.

Which future Doctor Who writer is the uncredited voice of a news reporter in Shaun of the Dead?

Mark Gatiss, of The League of Gentlemen, went unbilled for the voice work, one of many British comedy names tucked into the film's edges.

Which punk band first recorded 'Everybody's Happy Nowadays', covered by Ash in Shaun of the Dead?

Buzzcocks' song was re-recorded for the film by the Northern Irish band Ash, with a guest vocalist who also makes a cameo on screen.

Which Little Britain star has a cameo in Shaun of the Dead as a character known as Cousin Tom?

Matt Lucas had history with the director: he and his comedy partner had chosen a young Edgar Wright to direct their sketch show Mash and Peas.

Simon Pegg's Evening Standard prize for Shaun of the Dead is named after which Goon Show star?

Peter Sellers gives his name to the Evening Standard British Film Awards' comedy prize, which Pegg collected on a night when Vera Drake was named best film.

Which American comics publisher released a four-issue adaptation of Shaun of the Dead in 2005?

IDW Publishing's version was written by Chris Ryall with input from the film's two writers, and it includes scenes that were left out of the film.

Which film by the Coens did Wright and Pegg list among the films that inspired Shaun of the Dead?

Raising Arizona was among the inspirations for a script so tightly structured, with lines and actions repeated throughout, that only two scenes ended up improvised.

Which producer of Shaun of the Dead earned a BAFTA nomination for outstanding British debut?

Nira Park had already worked with the film's director and two leads on their television sitcom, and she went on to produce the rest of their ice-cream trilogy.