Rowan Atkinson Biography

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson, CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean. Atkinson first came to prominence in the BBC's sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979-82), receiving the 1981 BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance, and via his participation in The Secret Policeman's Ball from 1979. His other work includes the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, playing a bumbling vicar in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), voicing the red-billed hornbill Zazu in The Lion King (1994), and featuring in the BBC sitcom The Thin Blue Line (1995-1996). His work in theatre includes the 2009 West End revival of the musical Oliver!.

Atkinson was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and among the top 50 comedians ever, in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. In addition to his 1981 BAFTA, he received an Olivier Award for his 1981 West End theatre performance in Rowan Atkinson in Revue. He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday, and also in Johnny English (2003), its sequel Johnny English Reborn (2011) and its second upcoming sequel Johnny English 3 (2018). He appears as the titular character in Maigret (2016).

Early life

Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England, on 6 January 1955.

His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (ne Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers are 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, a preparatory school, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University, where he received a degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college where his father matriculated in 1935, and which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006.

First winning national attention in the Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1976, he had already written and performed early sketches for shows in Oxford by the Etceteras - the revue group of the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), and for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), meeting writer Richard Curtis, and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career

Radio

Atkinson starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1979 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.

Television

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton 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 featured in the show 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 him taking the lead role in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder (1983), which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was broadcast, this time written by Curtis and Ben Elton. Blackadder II (1986) 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 more sequels Blackadder the Third (1987) (set in the Regency era), and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder series became one of the most successful of all BBC situation comedies, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988), Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988), and later Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999), which was set at the turn of the Millennium. The final scene of "Blackadder Goes Forth" (when Blackadder and his men go "over the top" and charge into No-Man's-Land) has been described as "bold and highly poignant". During the 2014 centennial of the start of World War I, Michael Gove and war historian Max Hastings complained about the so-called "Blackadder version of history".

Atkinson's other creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Year's Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened to a modern-day Buster Keaton, but Atkinson himself has stated that Jacques Tati's character Monsieur Hulot was the main inspiration.

Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television until 1995, and the character later appeared in a feature film. Bean (1997) was directed by Mel Smith, Atkinson's colleague in Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second film, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in 2007. In 1995 and 1996, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in The Thin Blue Line television sitcom written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent named Richard Lathum in a long-running series of adverts for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn was based. In 1999, he played the Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death, a special Doctor Who serial produced for Comic Relief. Atkinson appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear in July 2011, driving the Kia Cee'd around the track in 1:42.2, placing him at the top of the leaderboard until Matt LeBlanc later recorded a 1:42.1 lap time.

Atkinson appeared at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London as Mr. Bean in a comedy sketch during a performance of "Chariots of Fire", playing a repeated single note on synthesizer. He then lapsed into a dream sequence in which he joined the runners from the film of the same name (about the 1924 Summer Olympics), beating them in their iconic run along West Sands at St. Andrews, by riding in a minicab and tripping the front runner. Atkinson starred as Jules Maigret in Maigret, a series of TV films from ITV.

Retirement of Mr. Bean

In November 2012, it emerged that Rowan Atkinson intended to retire Mr. Bean. "The stuff that has been most commercially successful for me - basically quite physical, quite childish - I increasingly feel I'm going to do a lot less of," Atkinson told the Daily Telegraph's Review. "Apart from the fact that your physical ability starts to decline, I also think someone in their 50s being childlike becomes a little sad. You've got to be careful." He has also said that the role typecast him to a degree.

In January 2014, however, ITV announced a new animated series featuring Mr. Bean with Rowan Atkinson returning to the role. It was expected to be released online as a web-series later in 2014, as a television broadcast followed shortly after. In October 2014, Atkinson also appeared as Mr. Bean in a TV advert for Snickers. In 2015, he starred alongside Ben Miller and Rebecca Front in a sketch for BBC Red Nose Day in which Mr. Bean attends a funeral. In 2017, he appeared as Mr. Bean in the Chinese film Huan Le Xi Ju Ren.

Film

Atkinson's film career began with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie Never Say Never Again (1983) and a leading role in Dead on Time (also 1983) with Nigel Hawthorne. He was in the 1988 Oscar-winning short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings. He appeared in Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy (1989) and appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's The Witches (1990). He played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and featured in Disney's The Lion King (also 1994) as the voice of Zazu the red-billed hornbill. He also sang the song I Just Can't Wait To Be King in The Lion King. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), Love Actually (2003) and the crime comedy Keeping Mum (2005), 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 with Bean (1997) to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), also became an international success. He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English (2003), its sequel, Johnny English Reborn (2011) and it's second upcoming sequel; Johnny English 3 (2018).

Theatre

Rowan Atkinson performed live on-stage skits - also appearing with members of Monty Python - in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979) in London for Amnesty International. Atkinson undertook a four-month tour of the UK in 1980. A recording of the stage performance was subsequently released as Live in Belfast.

In 1984, Atkinson appeared in a West End version of the comedy play The Nerd alongside a 10-year-old Christian Bale. The Sneeze and Other Stories, seven short Anton Chekhov plays, translated and adapted by Michael Frayn, were performed by Rowan Atkinson, Timothy West and Cheryl Campbell at the Aldwych Theatre, London in 1988 and early 1989.

In 2009, during the West End revival of the musical Oliver! based on Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Atkinson played the role of Fagin. His portrayal and singing of Fagin at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London garnered favourable reviews and he was nominated for an Olivier Award for best actor in a musical or entertainment.

On 28 November 2012, Rowan Atkinson reprised the role of Blackadder at the "We are Most Amused" comedy gala for the Prince's Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was joined by Tony Robinson as Baldrick. The sketch involved the first new Blackadder material for 10 years, with Blackadder as CEO of Melchett, Melchett and Darling bank facing an enquiry over the banking crisis.

In February 2013, Atkinson took on the titular role in a 12-week production (directed by Richard Eyre) of the Simon Gray play Quartermaine's Terms at Wyndham's Theatre in London with costars Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones) and Felicity Montagu (I'm Alan Partridge). In December 2013, he revived his schoolmaster sketch for Royal Free Hospital's Rocks with Laughter at the Adelphi Theatre. A few days prior, he performed a selection of sketches in a small coffee venue in front of only 30 people.

Comic style

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his Mr. Bean persona, 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 comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in the Blackadder II episode "Bells". Atkinson suffers from a stammer, and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to that of Buster Keaton, sets him apart from most modern television and film comics, who 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 ("Sense and Senility"), in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big-nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life

In March 2001, while Atkinson was on a holiday trip to Kenya, the pilot of his private plane fainted. Atkinson managed to maintain the plane in the air until the pilot recovered and was able to land the plane at Nairobi's Wilson Airport.

Marriage and children

Rowan Atkinson married Sunetra Sastry in February 1990. They have two children, Ben and Lily. The couple first met in the late 1980s, when she was working as a makeup artist with the BBC. They separated in 2014 and were divorced on 10 November 2015. Atkinson has been in a relationship with Louise Ford since 2014.

Politics

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the United Kingdom's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, 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 criticized 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.

In October 2012, he voiced his support for the Reform Section 5 campaign, which aims to reform or repeal Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, particularly its statement that an insult can be grounds for arrest and punishment. It is a reaction to several recent high-profile arrests, which Atkinson sees as a restriction of freedom of expression.

Religious views

Atkinson is known for criticising religious views and opposing the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 law.

Cars

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. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his obsession with cars, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists. A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995.

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. From 1997 to 2015, he owned a rare 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. That accident caused significant damage to the vehicle, taking over a year to be repaired and leading to the largest insurance payout in Britain, at 910,000. He has previously owned a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8 a koda Superb, and a Honda Civic Hybrid.

In July 2001, Atkinson crashed an Aston Martin V8 Zagato at an enthusiasts' meeting, but walked away unhurt. This was whilst he was competing in the Aston Martin Owners Club event, at the Croft Racing Circuit, Darlington.

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries a chance meeting with a man he later realized 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 chtif."

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."

In July 2011, Atkinson appeared as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on Top Gear, driving the Kia Cee'd around the track in 1:42.2, granting him first place on the leaderboard.

Honours

Atkinson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Fundamental Frolics	Himself	Short film
1983	Dead on Time	Bernard Fripp	Short Film
1983	Never Say Never Again	Nigel Small-Fawcett
1988	The Appointments of Dennis Jennings	Dr. Schooner	Short Film
1989	The Tall Guy	Ron Anderson
1990	The Witches	Mr. Stringer
1993	Hot Shots! Part Deux	Dexter Hayman
1994	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Father Gerald
1994	The Lion King	Zazu	Voice
1997	Bean	Mr. Bean	Also executive Producer
2000	Maybe Baby	Mr. James
2001	Rat Race	Enrico Pollini
2002	Scooby-Doo	Emile Mondavarious
2003	Johnny English	Johnny English	Nominated - European Film Award for Best Actor
2003	Love Actually	Rufus
2005	Keeping Mum	Reverend Walter Goodfellow
2007	Mr. Bean's Holiday	Mr. Bean
2011	Johnny English Reborn	Johnny English
2017	Huan Le Xi Ju Ren	Mr. Bean	Cameo
2018	Johnny English 3	Johnny English	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Canned Laughter	Robert Box	Pilot; also writer
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball	Himself	Television special
1979-1982	Not the Nine O'Clock News	Various roles	28 episodes; also writer
1980	Peter Cook & Co	Various roles	Television special
1980	The Innes Book of Records		1 episode
1981	The Secret Policeman's Other Ball	Various roles	Television special
1983	The Black Adder	Prince Edmund Plantagenet	6 episodes; also co-creator and writer
1986	Blackadder II	Edmund, Lord Blackadder	6 episodes
1986	Saturday Live	Himself (host)	1 episodes
1987	Blackadder the Third	Edmund Blackadder	6 episodes
1988	Blackadder: The Cavalier Years	Sir Edmund Blackadder	Television short
1988	Blackadder's Christmas Carol	Ebenezer Blackadder	Television special
1989	Blackadder Goes Forth	Captain Edmund Blackadder	6 episodes
1990-1995	Mr. Bean	Mr. Bean	15 episodes; also co-creator and writer
1991	Bernard and the Genie	Bernard's Boss	Television film
1991	The Driven Man	Himself	Television documentary; also writer
1992	Rowan Atkinson Live	Himself	Television special; also writer
1992	Funny Business	Kevin / Narrator	6 episodes; also writer
1992	A Bit of Fry & Laurie	Guest	1 episode
1992	Laughing Matters	Himself (host)	Television documentary
1995-1996	The Thin Blue Line	Inspector Raymond Fowler	14 episodes
1999	Blackadder: Back & Forth	Lord Blackadder / King Edmund III / Centurion Blaccadius	Television film
1999	Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death	The Doctor	Television special
2001	Popsters	Nasty Neville	Television short
2002-2004 2015-2016	Mr. Bean	Mr. Bean	Voice 104 episodes; also executive producer
2003	Lying to Michael Jackson	Martin Bashir	Television short
2005	Spider-Plant Man	Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man	Television short
2010	Bondi Rescue	Mr. Bean	1 episode
2012	The Olympics Opening Ceremony	Mr. Bean	Television special
2013	Live from Lambeth Palace sketches	The Archbishop of Canterbury	Television special
2015	Horrible Histories	Henry VIII of England	1 episode
2016-present	Maigret	Jules Maigret
2017	Red Nose Day Actually	Rufus	Television short

Television advertisements

Year	Title	Role
1980	Kronenbourg 1664	Customs officer
1983	Appletiser	Fisherman
1989	Give Blood	Doctor
1991-1997	Barclaycard	Richard Latham
1994	REMA 1000	Mr. Bean
1997	M&M's	Mr. Bean
1999	Nissan Tino	Mr. Bean
2014	Snickers	Mr. Bean

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Rowan Atkinson in Revue	Various roles	Also writer Globe Theatre
	Rowan Atkinson in New Revue	Various roles
1984	The Nerd	Willum Cubbert	Aldwych Theatre
1986	Rowan Atkinson at the Atkinson	Various roles	Also writer Brooks Atkinson Theatre
1988	The Sneeze	Various roles	Aldwych Theatre
2009	Oliver!	Fagin	Druy Lane
2013	Quartermaine's Terms	St. John Quartermaine	Wyndham's Theatre