Simon Pegg has discussed his "simple and amiable" friendship with Tom Cruise and how he sometimes “makes fun” of him for being so famous.

The British actor, 53, has worked with Cruise on four Mission: Impossible films ahead of the seventh instalment - Dead Reckoning: Part One - which releases in July.

Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Pegg said Cruise often appreciated “the ridiculousness” of his immense fame.

He said: “It’s always been a very easy relationship. I think you realise when you meet the person rather than the thicket of mythology that’s built up around them it’s a different experience.

“I mean, he loves (the fame) and he really relishes it, it’s all he knows. It energises him and spurs him on.”

He added: “I don’t think I would appreciate that particularly. I find that very stressful and overwhelming and I would maybe want to sort of retreat, I’m happy with where I am.

“We joke about it. I mean I always make fun of him for it, you know, about the things that he can access.”

'My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable'

Pegg went on to add that he doesn't talk to Cruise about his personal life or beliefs as he feels it would be "abusing" the "privileged access" he gets to him.

“My relationship with him is just very simple and amiable. We’re friends," he adds.

Alongside this Pegg recalled an incident while filming in South Africa, when Cruise had flown him in a helicopter to a seaside location so he could swim with sharks, describing it as “a real Tom Cruise kind of day”.

“He kind of appreciates the ridiculousness of it sometimes,” he said.

'I’m really happy when I’m working'

Pegg discussed how recently he would “work till he dropped” as he was "really happy" when he was working.

However, he added that is "difficult" as it takes him away from home and he always ends up missing his family."

Desert Island Discs airs on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 at 11.15 am on Sunday, May 14.