Simon Pegg - Pegg Used Paltrow To Land Danner Cameo In Paul

The British funnyman re-teams with his Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz collaborator Nick Frost for the family-friendly alien movie, which features appearances from stars including Sigourney Weaver and Jane Lynch.

Pegg admits he wanted Danner to take on the role of a "batty" old lady in the film, so he asked his pal Paltrow to convince her mum to take part.

He tells Access Hollywood, "We always kind of figured Blythe for (the role of) Tara, who is this slightly kind of isolated older lady who's been living on her own for a long time, 'cause Blythe has this wonderful - she can play batty (crazy) very well. I kind of know Gwyneth socially, so I was able to say, 'Tell your mum to read this!' And thank goodness she said yes. And we love Blythe, she was like our on set mum."