Rowan Atkinson
Encyclopedia
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy
show Not The Nine O'Clock News
, and the sitcoms Blackadder
, Mr. Bean
and The Thin Blue Line
. He has been listed in The Observer
as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy actors ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday and in Johnny English
and its sequel Johnny English Reborn
. He also starred in the film Never Say Never Again
(a spy film based on the James Bond
novel Thunderball
) in 1983.
, County Durham
, England. His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney
, a Eurosceptic
economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party
leadership election in 2000, and Rupert. Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School
, and Newcastle University
. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford
, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935, which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006. First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976, while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
(OUDS), the Oxford Revue
and the Experimental Theatre Club
(ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis
and composer Howard Goodall
, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.
in 1978 called "The Atkinson People
". It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis
, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones
.
as his straight man
in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television
in 1979 called Canned Laughter
. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News
for the BBC
, produced by his friend John Lloyd
. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson
, Griff Rhys Jones
and Mel Smith
, and was one of the main sketch writers.
The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder
, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis
, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton
, and first screened in 1986. Blackadder II
followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era
. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels Blackadder the Third
(1987) (set in the Regency era
), and Blackadder Goes Forth
(1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder
series went on to become one of the most successful BBC
situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol
(1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
(1988).
Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean
, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television
. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton
. During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs
comedy festival in Montreal
in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean
, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday.
In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular The Thin Blue Line
television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.
Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Hitachi
electrical goods, Fujifilm
, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard
, on which character his title role in Johnny English
and Johnny English Reborn
was based.
He also starred in a comedy spoof
of Doctor Who
as the Doctor
, for a red nose day
benefit.
Atkinson has also starred as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the motoring show, Top Gear in July 2011, where he recorded the fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.
Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond
movie Never Say Never Again
and a leading role in Dead on Time
with Nigel Hawthorne
. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy
in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston
and Mai Zetterling
in Roald Dahl
's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux
, a parody of Rambo III
, starring Charlie Sheen
.
Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral
. That same year he was featured in Disney's The Lion King
as the voice of Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill
.
Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo
(2002), and Love Actually (2003).
In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy Keeping Mum
, which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas
, Maggie Smith
and Patrick Swayze
.
In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with Bean
to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and this, as recently mentioned by Atkinson in 2011, was the last time he played the character. He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English
in 2003. Its sequel, Johnny English Reborn
was released on 7 October 2011.
.
Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical Oliver! as Fagin
. The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.
in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan
delivery.
One of his better-known trademark comic devices
is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob
" in a Blackadder
episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering
, and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.
Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton
, sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of Blackadder the Third
, in which Baldrick
(Tony Robinson
) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder
, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".
father and a British mother. The couple married at the Russian Tea Room
in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden
, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London. In October 2010, his Blackadder co-star Stephen Fry
confessed on The Rob Brydon Show
and in his second autobiography (The Fry Chronicles) that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'. Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash
.
, Stephen Fry
, and Ian McEwan
, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.
In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.
around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car
, Octane, Evo
, and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1
in 1995.
Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence
, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.
A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin
in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man
, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.
Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series
. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang
, Lancashire with an Austin Metro in October 1999. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree. He also owns a Honda NSX
. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8
, and a Honda Civic Hybrid
.
The Conservative Party
politician Alan Clark
, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries
this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire
in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8
Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls-Royce
to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."
One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche
: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."
He appeared in episode 4, season 17 of Top Gear in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd
on the test track in 1"42.2, replacing John Bishop
(1"42.8) as the leader of the board.
He attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix
as a guest of McLaren
.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show Not The Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
, and the sitcoms Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
, Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
and The Thin Blue Line
The Thin Blue Line (TV series)
The Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson set in a police station that ran for two series on the BBC from 1995 to 1996...
. He has been listed in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy actors ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday and in Johnny English
Johnny English
Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...
and its sequel Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British spy comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre and film franchise reboots. The film is the sequel to Johnny English , and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker. The film has a slightly...
. He also starred in the film Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
(a spy film based on the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Thunderball
Thunderball
Thunderball may refer to:*Thunderball , a 1961 James Bond novel by Ian Fleming**Thunderball , a 1965 film adaptation of the novel starring Sean Connery**Thunderball , the soundtrack from the film, or the title song...
) in 1983.
Early life and education
Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in ConsettConsett
Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England. His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney
Rodney Atkinson
Rodney Eric Bainbridge Atkinson is a British Eurosceptic conservative academic, political and economic commentator, journalist and author...
, a Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
leadership election in 2000, and Rupert. Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School
St. Bees School
St. Bees School is a co-educational independent school in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees. Founded in 1583 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Edmund Grindal as a boys' "free grammar school", today it is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference with around 300 pupils aged...
, and Newcastle University
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963. Newcastle University is...
. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935, which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006. First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976, while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society
Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
(OUDS), the Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term...
and the Experimental Theatre Club
Experimental Theatre Club
The Experimental Theatre Club is a student dramatic society at University of Oxford, England. It was founded in 1936 by Nevill Coghill as an alternative company to the Oxford University Dramatic Society , and produces several productions a year.Many famous actors and directors have been involved...
(ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
and composer Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.
Radio
Atkinson had starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
in 1978 called "The Atkinson People
The Atkinson People
The Atkinson People is a 1979 BBC radio comedy series. The series, which was first broadcast sporadically in 1979 by the BBC's arts radio station Radio 3, features a satirical profile of a fictional famous person each week....
". It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
.
Television
After university, Atkinson toured with Angus DeaytonAngus Deayton
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
as his straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
in 1979 called Canned Laughter
Canned Laughter (sitcom)
Rowan Atkinson presents...Canned Laughter was a one-off ITV sitcom featuring Rowan Atkinson broadcast on 8 April 1979. Atkinson plays three roles; the nerdy Robert Box , his sinister boss Mr. Marshall, and would-be stand-up comic Dave Perry...
. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, produced by his friend John Lloyd
John Lloyd (writer)
John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
and Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
, and was one of the main sketch writers.
The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, and first screened in 1986. Blackadder II
Blackadder II
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986...
followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
(1987) (set in the Regency era
English Regency
The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father....
), and Blackadder Goes Forth
Blackadder Goes Forth
Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One....
(1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
series went on to become one of the most successful BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of Blackadder, a parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is set between Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth , and is narrated by Hugh Laurie...
(1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
Blackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15 minute one-off edition of Blackadder set during the English Civil War, shown as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on Friday 5 February . The episode included series regulars Rowan Atkinson as Sir Edmund Blackadder, Tony Robinson as Baldrick, and Stephen Fry...
(1988).
Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
comedy festival in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean
Bean (1997 film)
Bean, also known as Mr. Bean: The Movie and Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie is a 1997 British-American comedy film based on the popular ITV comedy Television series Mr. Bean, which was written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character...
, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday.
The Thin Blue Line (TV series)
The Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson set in a police station that ran for two series on the BBC from 1995 to 1996...
television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.
Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
electrical goods, Fujifilm
Fujifilm
is a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard
Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....
, on which character his title role in Johnny English
Johnny English
Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...
and Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British spy comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre and film franchise reboots. The film is the sequel to Johnny English , and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker. The film has a slightly...
was based.
He also starred in a comedy spoof
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death
Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death is a four-episode special of Doctor Who made for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and broadcast on BBC One on 12 March 1999...
of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
as the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, for a red nose day
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
benefit.
Atkinson has also starred as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the motoring show, Top Gear in July 2011, where he recorded the fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.
Film
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
and a leading role in Dead on Time
Dead on Time (1983 film)
Dead on Time is a 1983 British short film directed by Lyndall Hobbs and written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. The film is a comedy which tells the story of Bernard Fripp a man who, on attending a routine check-up, is diagnosed by his doctor as having a rare disease leaving him only 30...
with Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy
The Tall Guy
The Tall Guy is a 1989 romantic comedy and the feature film debut of screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Mel Smith. It was produced by London Weekend Television for theatrical release and stars Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, and Rowan Atkinson...
in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in...
and Mai Zetterling
Mai Zetterling
-Early life:Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actress by the age of seventeen at Dramaten, the Swedish national theater, and appeared in war-era film starting in her teens.-Career:...
in Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Hot Shots! Part Deux is a 1993 comedy/parody film, and a sequel to the 1991 comedy Hot Shots!.Directed again by Jim Abrahams, the film stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna, Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, and Jerry Haleva...
, a parody of Rambo III
Rambo III
Rambo III is an American Action film released on May 25, 1988. It is the third film in the Rambo series following First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II...
, starring Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
.
Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
. That same year he was featured in Disney's The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
as the voice of Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Hornbill is a relatively small species of hornbill found in savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes split into five species, the Northern Red-billed Hornbill , Western Red-billed Hornbill , Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill , Southern Red-billed Hornbill Red-billed...
.
Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo (film)
Scooby-Doo is a 2002 American comedy film based on the Hanna-Barbera television cartoon series Scooby-Doo about a group of young detectives and their talking dog. It is the first installment in the Scooby-Doo live action film series...
(2002), and Love Actually (2003).
In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy Keeping Mum
Keeping Mum
Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy film starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.-Plot:In the opening scene, as pregnant young Rosie Jones rides on a train, her very large trunk starts leaking blood...
, which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
, Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
and Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
.
In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with Bean
Bean (1997 film)
Bean, also known as Mr. Bean: The Movie and Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie is a 1997 British-American comedy film based on the popular ITV comedy Television series Mr. Bean, which was written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character...
to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and this, as recently mentioned by Atkinson in 2011, was the last time he played the character. He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English
Johnny English
Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...
in 2003. Its sequel, Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn
Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British spy comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre and film franchise reboots. The film is the sequel to Johnny English , and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker. The film has a slightly...
was released on 7 October 2011.
Theatre
Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker...
.
Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical Oliver! as Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
. The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.
Comedic style
Best known for his use of physical comedyPhysical comedy
Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.Physical comedy, whether conveyed by a pratfall , a silly face, or the action of walking into walls, is a common and rarely subtle form of comedy...
in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan
Deadpan
Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...
delivery.
One of his better-known trademark comic devices
Comedic device
A comedic device is used in comedy to write humor in a common structure. They can become so common that they are difficult for writers to use without being perceived as cheesy.-Double entendre:...
is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob
Bob (Blackadder character)
Bob is a pseudonym used by two characters in the sitcom Blackadder, both female and played by Gabrielle Glaister.-Blackadder II:Kate, who goes by the pseudonym "Bob", is one of the first characters to appear in Blackadder II...
" in a Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
, and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.
Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
, in which Baldrick
Baldrick
Baldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series Blackadder. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character...
(Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder
Mr. E. Blackadder
Edmund Blackadder, Esq. is the main character in the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder. He was played by Rowan Atkinson.The series was set in the reign of George III of the United Kingdom . The character is in keeping with the trend of the series Blackadder is lower in rank in this series,...
, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".
Personal life
Marriage and Children
Rowan Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC. Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an IndianIndian people
Indian people or Indisians constitute the Asian nation and pan-ethnic group native to India, which forms the south of Asia, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the rich and complex history of India...
father and a British mother. The couple married at the Russian Tea Room
Russian Tea Room
The Russian Tea Room is a restaurant in New York City, located at 150 West 57th Street between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower.-History:...
in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden
Ipsden
Ipsden is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford.-Parish church:The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the Virgin was built late in the 12th century as a chapelry of North Stoke...
, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London. In October 2010, his Blackadder co-star Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
confessed on The Rob Brydon Show
The Rob Brydon Show
The Rob Brydon Show is a British talk show hosted by comedian Rob Brydon. The first series started on 17 September 2010 and consists of six regular episodes, a compilation episode and a Christmas special...
and in his second autobiography (The Fry Chronicles) that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'. Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash
Leslie Ash is an English actress, best known for her role in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007....
.
Politics
In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas HytnerNicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, and Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion...
, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.
In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.
Cars
With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris MinorMorris Minor
The Morris Minor was a British economy car that debuted at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, on 20 September 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.3 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1971...
around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car
Car Magazine
Car Magazine is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Automotive. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Brazil, China, Greece, India, Mexico, the Middle East, Poland , Romania, Russia, South Africa , Spain, Thailand and Turkey...
, Octane, Evo
Evo Magazine
Evo is a British automobile magazine dedicated to performance cars, from hot hatches to supercars. The first issue was produced in November 1998 as an unofficial successor to Performance Car, which had been closed and integrated into Car Magazine by publisher Emap. "Evo" is published 13 times a...
, and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a supercar designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior of the car...
in 1995.
Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence
Driving licence in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the driving licence is the official document which authorises its holder to operate various types of motor vehicle on public roads. In England, Scotland and Wales they are administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle...
, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.
A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin
Henry Birkin
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.-Background and family:...
in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man
The Driven Man (1991) (TV)
The Driven Man is a humorous documentary film written by British comedian and well-known car collector Rowan Atkinson, penned as a series of sketches featuring himself driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and...
, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.
Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series
Renault Clio Cup
The Renault Clio Cup is a One-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. As the name suggests, Renault Clio cars are used, and are grouped in 15 national championships and an International Cup.-Championships:...
. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang
Garstang
Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and had a total resident population of 4,074 in 2001....
, Lancashire with an Austin Metro in October 1999. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree. He also owns a Honda NSX
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX, or Acura NSX, is a sports car that was produced between 1990 and 2005 by the Japanese automaker Honda. It is equipped with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, powered by an all-aluminium V6 gasoline engine featuring Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control ...
. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8
Audi A8
The Audi A8 is a four-door, full-size, luxury sedan car manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, the A8 has been offered with front wheel drive or permanent four-wheel drive, with multitronic or tiptronic automatic transmissions — and in short- and...
, and a Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid
The Civic hybrid, based on the seventh generation Civic, was first introduced to the Japanese market in December 2001. Honda claimed it was the most fuel efficient 5-passenger gasoline-powered production vehicle in the world at the time. It was introduced to the U.S. in spring 2002 as a 2003 model...
.
The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician Alan Clark
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries
Alan Clark Diaries
Alan Clark started keeping a regular diary in 1955 which lasted until August 1999, during his second spell as a Member of Parliament, when he was incapacitated due to the onset of the brain tumour which was to be the cause of his death a month later...
this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8
Aston Martin DBS
The Aston Martin DBS is a GT car produced by the British manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited. Originally produced from 1967–72, it featured in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service...
Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."
One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."
He appeared in episode 4, season 17 of Top Gear in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd
Kia cee'd
The Kia Cee'd is a front wheel drive small family car released in the European market by the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors in December 2006—superseding the Kia Spectra—and available as a five-door hatchback, three-door hatchback , and five-door estate with a choice of up to four...
on the test track in 1"42.2, replacing John Bishop
John Bishop (comedian)
John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish...
(1"42.8) as the leader of the board.
He attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix
2011 Indian Grand Prix
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 30 October 2011 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India...
as a guest of McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
.
Television appearances
- Canned LaughterCanned Laughter (sitcom)Rowan Atkinson presents...Canned Laughter was a one-off ITV sitcom featuring Rowan Atkinson broadcast on 8 April 1979. Atkinson plays three roles; the nerdy Robert Box , his sinister boss Mr. Marshall, and would-be stand-up comic Dave Perry...
(1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT - The Secret Policeman's BallThe Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker...
(1979), a charity special for Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's... - Not the Nine O'Clock NewsNot the Nine O'Clock NewsNot the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
(1979–1982) - Peter Cook & Co (1980)
- The Innes Book of Records (1980), guest appearance
- Never Say Never AgainNever Say Never AgainNever Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
(1983) - BlackadderBlackadderBlackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder), Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II), Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III), Ebenezer Blackadder (Blackadder's Christmas CarolBlackadder's Christmas CarolBlackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of Blackadder, a parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is set between Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth , and is narrated by Hugh Laurie...
) & Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989) - Saturday Live as guest host (1986)
- Mr. BeanMr. BeanMr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times) - Rowan Atkinson Live as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)
- Bernard and the GenieBernard and the GenieBernard and the Genie is a seventy-minute British TV movie co-produced by Attaboy and Talkback for BBC Television. It was first shown on BBC1 on 23 November 1991...
as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie) - Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
- A Bit Of Fry And LaurieA Bit of Fry and LaurieA Bit of Fry & Laurie is a British sketch comedy television series starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and totalled 26 episodes, including a 35 minute pilot episode in 1987.As in The...
(1992), guest appearance - The Thin Blue LineThe Thin Blue Line (TV series)The Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom starring Rowan Atkinson set in a police station that ran for two series on the BBC from 1995 to 1996...
as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996) - Blackadder: Back and Forth as Blackadder (2000)
- Mr. Bean (animated TV series) as Mr Bean, voice (2002)
- The Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecasts, including appearing in:
- Blackadder: The Cavalier YearsBlackadder: The Cavalier YearsBlackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15 minute one-off edition of Blackadder set during the English Civil War, shown as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on Friday 5 February . The episode included series regulars Rowan Atkinson as Sir Edmund Blackadder, Tony Robinson as Baldrick, and Stephen Fry...
as Edmund Blackadder (1988) - Nosenight sketches (1989)
- Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr Bean (1991)
- (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr Bean (1992)
- Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr Bean (1993)
- Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995)
- Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal DeathDoctor Who and the Curse of Fatal DeathDoctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death is a four-episode special of Doctor Who made for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and broadcast on BBC One on 12 March 1999...
as The Doctor (1999) - Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001)
- Lying to Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003)
- Spider-Plant ManSpider-Plant ManSpider-Plant Man is a parody of Spider-Man, made for the Comic Relief 2005 appeal and aired on BBC One on March 11, 2005. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man and Rachel Stevens as his love-interest Jane-Mary...
as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005) - Mr Bean's Wedding as Mr Bean (2007)
- The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief as Himself (2007)
- Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
- We Are Most AmusedWe Are Most AmusedWe Are Most Amused was a gala event held at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in honour of the 60th birthday of Charles, Prince of Wales, in aid of The Prince's Trust. Prince Charles attended the event with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and youngest son Prince Harry.The show...
(2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday - Blackadder Rides Again as himself (2008)
Guest appearances
- WoganWoganWogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. It followed the format of a series broadcast in 1980 entitled What's On Wogan?, which failed to gather viewers. The Wogan show was initially broadcast on Tuesday evenings on BBC1 in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984, it moved into the...
(1988, 1991) - Children in NeedChildren in NeedChildren in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
(1988), guest appearance as Mr E. Blackadder - Noel's House PartyNoel's House PartyNoel's House Party was a BBC television light entertainment show hosted by Noel Edmonds that was broadcast live on Saturday evenings throughout the 1990s. It was set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo. The show was broadcast during the...
, guest appearance as Blackadder - Going Live, guest appearance as Mr Bean
- This MorningThis Morning (TV series)This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
(1995), guest appearance as Mr Bean - Big Breakfast
- ParkinsonParkinson (TV series)Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
(2003) - Blue PeterBlue PeterBlue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
(2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean - London TonightLondon TonightLondon Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
(2005) - BBC BreakfastBBC BreakfastBBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
(2007) - Richard & JudyRichard & JudyRichard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
(2007) - The Dame Edna TreatmentThe Dame Edna TreatmentThe Dame Edna Treatment was a British, ITV talk show created by Barry Humphries and starring his characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. It aired on ITV at various times. The theme tune was written and performed by Robin Gibb. It was based upon the 1997 British talk show Dr Dame Edna...
(2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean - Top Gear (2011)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Secret Policeman's Ball The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979) The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker... |
Various roles | Solo skits, plus with Monty Python |
| 1982 | Fundamental Frolics | Himself | |
| 1982 | The Secret Policeman's Other Ball The Secret Policeman's Other Ball The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field... |
Himself & Various Roles | |
| 1983 | Dead on Time Dead on Time (1983 film) Dead on Time is a 1983 British short film directed by Lyndall Hobbs and written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. The film is a comedy which tells the story of Bernard Fripp a man who, on attending a routine check-up, is diagnosed by his doctor as having a rare disease leaving him only 30... |
Bernard Fripp | |
| Never Say Never Again Never Say Never Again Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball... |
Nigel Small-Fawcett | a spy film on the James Bond James Bond James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,... Novel Thunderball Thunderball Thunderball may refer to:*Thunderball , a 1961 James Bond novel by Ian Fleming**Thunderball , a 1965 film adaptation of the novel starring Sean Connery**Thunderball , the soundtrack from the film, or the title song... |
|
| 1989 | The Appointments of Dennis Jennings The Appointments of Dennis Jennings The Appointments of Dennis Jennings is a 1988 American short comedy film, starring and co-written by Steven Wright, which won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 61st Academy Awards in 1988.-Plot:... |
Dr. Schooner | Short Film |
| The Tall Guy The Tall Guy The Tall Guy is a 1989 romantic comedy and the feature film debut of screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Mel Smith. It was produced by London Weekend Television for theatrical release and stars Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, and Rowan Atkinson... |
Ron Anderson | ||
| 1990 | The Witches | Mr. Stringer | |
| 1991 | The Driven Man The Driven Man (1991) (TV) The Driven Man is a humorous documentary film written by British comedian and well-known car collector Rowan Atkinson, penned as a series of sketches featuring himself driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and... |
Himself | TV Also Writer |
| 1993 | Hot Shots! Part Deux Hot Shots! Part Deux Hot Shots! Part Deux is a 1993 comedy/parody film, and a sequel to the 1991 comedy Hot Shots!.Directed again by Jim Abrahams, the film stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna, Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, and Jerry Haleva... |
Dexter Hayman | |
| 1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral Four Weddings and a Funeral Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant... |
Father Gerald | |
| The Lion King The Lion King The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series... |
Zazu | Voice Only | |
| 1997 | Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie | Mr. Bean | Also Writer/Executive Producer |
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Mr. James | |
| 2001 | Rat Race | Enrico Pollini | |
| 2002 | Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo (film) Scooby-Doo is a 2002 American comedy film based on the Hanna-Barbera television cartoon series Scooby-Doo about a group of young detectives and their talking dog. It is the first installment in the Scooby-Doo live action film series... |
Emile Mondavarious | |
| 2003 | Johnny English Johnny English Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles... |
Johnny English | |
| Love Actually Love Actually Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress... |
Rufus | Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting | |
| 2005 | Keeping Mum Keeping Mum Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy film starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.-Plot:In the opening scene, as pregnant young Rosie Jones rides on a train, her very large trunk starts leaking blood... |
Reverend Walter Goodfellow | |
| 2007 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | Mr. Bean | Also Writer |
| 2011 | Johnny English Reborn Johnny English Reborn Johnny English Reborn is a 2011 British spy comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre and film franchise reboots. The film is the sequel to Johnny English , and stars Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker. The film has a slightly... |
Johnny English | Also Executive Producer |
Live comedy albums
- Live in BelfastLive in BelfastLive in Belfast is a live comedy album by English comedian Rowan Atkinson. It was first released in 1980 as a vinyl LP and cassette tape on Arista Records, then re-released in 1996 on CD....
(1980) - Not Just a Pretty FaceNot Just a Pretty Face (Rowan Atkinson album)Not Just a Pretty Face is a comedy album by British comedian Rowan Atkinson....
(1987)