25 Interesting Facts About Rowan Atkinson You May Not Know
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder (1983–1989) and Mr. Bean (1990–1995). Atkinson first came to prominence in the BBC's sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982), receiving the 1981 BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance, and via his participation in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979). His other work includes the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), playing a bumbling vicar in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), voicing the red-billed hornbill Zazu in The Lion King (1994), and playing jewellery salesman Rufus in Love Actually (2003). He also featured 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 in 2007, and among the top 50 comedians ever, in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians. Throughout his career he has collaborated with screenwriter Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, both of whom he met at the Oxford University Dramatic Society during the 1970s. 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 (1997) and Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), and also in the Johnny English film series (2003–2018). He also appears as the titular character in Maigret (2016–2017).
Despite being known mainly as a great actor, he also starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 called The Atkinson People.
When attending Durham Choristers School, Atkinson was Tony Blair's schoolmate.
A very educated man, Atkinson is a graduate from two universities – the Newcastle University and the Oxford University. His thesis was on self-tuning control systems.
While he used to be a class clown when he was young, by the time he got into his pre-teens he developed self-consciousness and became rather quiet and withdrawn.
Born as the youngest of four brothers in the town of Consett, Atkinson was brought up Anglican by his parents Eric and Ella May.
He is also a proud owner of an impressive collection of fast cars including Aston Martin, Honda, Audi and even MC Laren F1.
His fondness for big cars might have originated as early as in his childhood when young Atkinson loved to drive his father´s tractor.
One of Atkinson´s greatest passions are cars. Once he even said that one of the best moments of his life, aside from personal relationships, was to get a Class 1 license to drive a lorry (semi-truck).
The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News gave him the lead role in the popular medieval sitcom The Black Adder, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis.
At the beginning of his career, Atkinson appeared in several shows and movies but it was the BBC comedy sketch show Not the Nine O´Clock News that made him famous.
He was one of the guests at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as well as the one of Prince Charles and Camilla.
Occasionally, Atkinson also writes for some British car magazines such as the Car magazine.
Naturally, cars have played an important role in his film career as well. The scene with Mr. Bean driving his mini from a chair on the roof is known all over the world.
In his MC Laren F1 car, Atkinson got involved in two accidents. The second one, in 2011, was quite serious – the actor hydro-planed into a tree and dislocated his shoulder. The car was badly damaged and it was the first case in British history where the insurance company billed 1 million pounds.
But there is one brand he doesn’t like – Porsche. Once he said "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.“
In 1990, Atkinson married Sunetra Sastry, a BBC makeup artist that he met in the late 1980´s. They have two children – Lily and Benjamin. In February 2014, though, he filed for divorce from Sastry.
Earlier in his career, the comedian dated actress Leslie Ash and, despite the totally unromantic nature of Mr. Bean, he did show off some deep romantic feelings back then as he planted rowan and ash trees at the house he bought.
Atkinson has been a big fan of James Bond and he even got a chance to play a supporting character in the James Bond movie “Never Say Never Again” from 1983 with Sean Connery.
For most of his life, he has suffered from a mild stammer, which might be also why he has been known as very taciturn in his private life, particularly disliking interviews. In fact, Mr. Bean also hardly ever speaks.
Atkinson is known for publicly opposing the British Labor government's plans to introduce new legislation on incitement to religious hatred, arguing that it would undermine free speech.
0 Comments