40 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.