Comic actor and writer, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE England, UK. He studied electrical engineering at the universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Oxford, first appeared in Oxford University revues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and in 1981 became the youngest performer to have had a one-man show in the West End. Subsequent appearances include The Nerd (1984), The New Revue (1986), and The Sneeze (1988). Television work includes Not the Nine O'Clock News (197982), Blackadder (19839), The Thin Blue Line (19956), and Mr Bean (from 19904, 1996 in the USA), and among his film credits are Bean: the Ultimate Disaster Movie (1997), Johnny English (2003), and Keeping Mum (2005).
| Rowan Atkinson | |
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Rowan Atkinson on promotion tour for his movie Bean in Hürth, Germany August, 1997, photo by Gerhard Heeke |
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| Born |
January 6, 1955 (age 51) Consett, County Durham, England |
| Notable roles |
Mr Bean Edmund Blackadder |
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born January 6, 1955 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England) is an English comedian, actor and writer best known for playing the title role in the British television comedy Mr. Bean and for his role as Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder.
Early life
Atkinson was born to Eric Atkinson and Ella May, Anglican farmers in the town of Consett, north-west of the city of Durham.
In 2003, Atkinson was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy , and in a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill — on the grounds that the Bill would give religious groups a "weapon of disproportionate power" whose threat would engender a culture of self-censorship among artists.
His large car collection includes:
Aston Martin V8 - Used in the film The Tall Guy, with Atkinson's registration plate COM1C. 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."Selected television appearances
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982) Blackadder (1983-1989) Mr. Bean (1990–1995, 2002) Bernard and the Genie (1991) Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy The Thin Blue Line (1995–1996) The Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecasts, including appearing in: Spider-Plant Man as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005) Lying With Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003) Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001) "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death" as The Doctor (1999) Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995) Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr Bean (1993) (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr Bean (1992) Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr Bean (1991) Blackadder - The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | Mr. Bean | |
| 2005 | Keeping Mum | Reverend Walter Goodfellow | |
| 2003 | Love Actually | Rufus | |
| Johnny English | Johnny English | ||
| 2002 | Scooby-Doo | Emile Mondavarious | |
| 2001 | Rat Race | Enrico Pollini | |
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Mr. James | |
| 1997 | Bean | Mr. Bean | |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Zazu | (voice) |
| Four Weddings and a Funeral | Father Gerald | ||
| 1993 | Hot Shots! Part Deux | Dexter Hayman | |
| 1990 | The Witches (1990 film) | Mr. Stringer | |
| 1989 | The Tall Guy | Ron Anderson | |
| The Appointments of Dennis Jennings | Dr. Schooner | ||
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | Nigel Small-Fawcett | |
| 1983 | Dead on Time | Bernard Fripp | |
| 1982 | The Secret Policeman's Other Ball | Himself / Various Roles |
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