Rowan Sebastian Atkinson, CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an
English actor, comedian, and screenwriter who is best known for his work on the
sitcoms Mr. Bean and Blackadder. Atkinson first came to prominence in the
sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–82). He has been listed in
The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy and amongst the top 50 comedians 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.
Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham
Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University, where he received
a degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1975, he continued for the degree of
M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford. First winning
national attention in the Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in
August 1976,[13] 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.
After university, Atkinson 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. 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. 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
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. 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) and its sequel, Johnny English Reborn (2011).
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,[28]
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,[21] 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").
Atkinson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British
Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.
He won TV Prize for the category Best Foreign TV Personality
- Male (Basta utlandska man) in 1994, 1996, and 1998. He also won BAFTA TV
Award for the category Best Light Entertainment Performance for Blackadder Goes
Forth (1989) in 1990 and Best Light Entertainment Performance for Not the Nine
O'Clock News (1979) in 1981. And he also won Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award UK
for the category Funniest Person . He got 13 other nominees too. He is a legend
in the world of actor and comedian.
