Hot Fuzz is a 2007 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The three had previously worked together on the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead and the television series Spaced. It was written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, and produced by Nira Park.
Director Edgar Wright said in an interview that Cate Blanchett had a cameo appearance because she was a fan of the film Shaun of the Dead. Like Blanchett, Jim Broadbent was interested in the film and asked Simon Pegg for an appearance while they were at the BAFTA Awards ceremony.
Wright met director Peter Jackson while filming King Kong, and Jackson suggested a cameo for him in his next film. Edgar and Jackson used fake beards to portray the Santa Claus who stabs Nicholas Angel at the beginning of the film.