Table of Biography
Rowan Atkinson is a very famous English Movie Actor. Rowan Atkinson popularly known as “Mr. Bean” is a comedian as well as a writer. He was on the list of one of the fifty funniest actors in British comedy by The Observer. Also, in the year 1983, he was able to appear in the James Bond film, “Never Say Never Again”.
Early Life and Childhood
Rowan Atkinson was born on January 6, 1955, in Consett, County Durham, England. He is 69 years old and is under the astrological sign, Capricorn. He holds English nationality and his full name is Rowan Sebastian Atkinson.
His father’s name is Eric Atkinson and his mother’s name is Ella May (née Bainbridge). His parents tied the knot on June 29, 1945, and his father is a farmer and company director. Likewise, Rowan is the youngest of four boys and his sibling’s names are Paul, Rodney, and Rupert.
His brother, Paul passed away as an infant and his other brother, Rodney is a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the UK Independence Party leadership election in the year 2000. However, there is no information about his other brother.
Rowan Atkinson – Education
Regarding Atkinson’s educational background and qualifications, he attended the Durham Chorister School which is a preparatory school.
He then went on to attend St Bees School. And, after receiving top grades in science A levels, he was able to secure a place at Newcastle University, where he received a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Then, in the year 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen’s College, Oxford and this made him an Honorary Fellow in 2006. Moreover, he briefly embarked on doctoral work before devoting his full attention to acting.
Career and Professional Life
Rowan Atkinson was able to star in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1979, “The Atkinson People” and he was one of the writers as well. And, after graduating from the university, he was able to do a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979, “Canned Laughter”.
Through this, he was able to gain further national attention when he performed on the third “The Secret Policeman’s Ball” in June 1979. Since then, he appeared in televised skits with various performers.
Then, in October 1979, he was able to appear first on “Not the Nine O’Clock News” and then went on to feature on many other skits as well. Then with the help of his success, The went on to take the lead role of Edmund Blackadder in the BBC mock-historical comedy “Blackadder”.
Rowan’s other creation, “the hapless Mr. Bean”, first appeared on New Year’s Day in the year 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. And, the character of Mr. Bean has been likened to a modern-day Buster Keaton, but he stated that Jacques Tati’s character Monsieur Hulot was the main inspiration.
Then, several sequels to Mr. Bean were able to appear on television until the year 1995. Likewise, Mel Smith directed “Bean” in the year 1997 and a second film, “Mr Bean’s Holiday”, was released in the year 2007. His character as “Mr. Bean” was loved by a lot of people and this sitcom also became very famous worldwide.
Caption: Rowan Atkinson as “Mr. Bean” (Source: Kronen Zeitung)
More about his career
Likewise, he then was able to portray ‘Inspector Raymond Fowler’ in “The Thin Blue Line” from the year 1995 to 1996. He also has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Fujifilm, and Give Blood. He even was able to feature in the series of adverts for Barclaycard, The Curse of Fatal Death, Reasonably Priced Car on the BBC’s Top Gear, and many others.
Moreover, he appeared at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London as Mr. Bean in a comedy sketch during a performance of “Chariots of Fire”. And, in November 2012, it emerged that he intended to retire Mr. Bean and in 2018, he told, it was unlikely Mr. Bean would reappear on television again but her never confirmed it.
More About “Mr. Bean” and other films
He starred “BBC Red Nose Day”, “Huan Le Xi Ju Ren”, and a commercial for Emirati-based telecommunications company Etisalat as Mr. Bean. And, he also took on multiple characters such as a Scottish warrior, a gentleman and a lady from the Victorian era, a football player, a racing car driver, a jungle man, a man revving up a chainsaw, and a masked sword-wielding Spanish vigilante.
Also, in October of the year 2018, he was able to receive YouTube’s Diamond Play Button for his channel surpassing 10 million subscribers on the video platform Mr. Bean. And, ITV animated series featuring Mr. Bean with Atkinson returning to the role in January 2014.
Also, a fifth series of “Mr Bean: The Animated Series” was released in the year 2019. Likewise, his film career started with a supporting part in the James Bond film “Never Say Never Again” in the year 1983. He also appeared in a leading role in “Dead on Time” in that same year.
He then went on to feature in many other films such as The Tall Guy, The Witches, and Hot Shots! Part Deux, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and The Lion King. Moreover, he even continued to appear in supporting roles in comedies, including Rat Race, Scooby-Doo, jewelry salesman Rufus in another Richard Curtis British-set romantic comedy, Love Actually, and the crime comedy Keeping Mum.
Theatre, Comic Style, and Influences
T was a theatre actor as well and was able to perform several live on-stage skits. He was able to appear in a West End version of the comedy play “The Nerd alongside 10-year-old Christian Bale” in the year 1984. H
e performed The Sneeze and Other Stories, the West End revival of the musical Oliver!, “We are Most Amused” comedy gala for The Prince’s Trust and Quartermaine’s Terms. During his Theatre career, he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Entertainment.
Atkinson is also popular for his use of physical comedy in his Mr. Bean persona as his other characters rely more on language. And, he often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.
And, his 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. That is the reason why his talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called “the man with the rubber face”.
Moreover, his early comedy influences were the sketch comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe. They were made up of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller, and Alan Bennett. They were the major figures of the 1960s British satire boom, and then Monty Python. Peter Sellers also influenced him.
Caption: Rowan Atkinson performing in the Theatre (Source: The Telegraph)
Political Activism and Cars
Rowan Atkinson was able to lead a coalition of the United Kingdom’s most prominent actors and writers in June 2005. Then, in the year 2009, he was the one who 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.
He even opposed the Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 to outlaw inciting religious hatred. He even voiced his support for the Reform Section 5 campaign and defended comments made by Boris Johnson about wearing the burqa. Also, in the year 2021, he criticized the rise of cancel culture.
Likewise, he holds a category C+E (formerly “Class 1”) lorry driving license, gained in the year 1981. He even has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one-make series. He also owns a rare McLaren F1, a Honda NSX, an Audi A8, a Škoda Superb, a Honda Civic Hybrid, a Rolls-Royce, an Aston Martin V8 Zagato, a Porsche, and a Kia Cee’d.
Relationship Status
Rowan Atkinson and his former wife, Sunetra Sastry met each other in the late 1980s when she was working for the BBC. Sunetra at that time was a makeup artist. The couple tied the knot in February of the year 1990. They have two children together and their names are Lily Sastry and Benjamin Atkinson.
Then, in the year 2013, when Atkinson was 58 years old, he started an affair with 32-year-old comedian Louise Ford. They met each other while performing in a play together. On one hand, Ford ended her relationship with comedian James Acaster to be with Atkinson.
And, in the other hand, Atkinson separated from his wife in 2014 and divorced her in 2015. Likewise, he has one child with Ford and her name is Isla Atkinson.
Caption: Rowan Atkinson along with Louise Ford (Source: Gala)
Body Measurements
Rowan Atkinson has a height of 5 feet 11 inches and his weight is 79 Kg. And his other body measurements are 39-34-13 inches. Moreover, Atkinson has black hair and brown eyes. But his hair is getting white as he is getting older.
Social Media
Rowan Atkinson is pretty active on all of his social accounts. He owns his Instagram account under the name “urban” and has 8.8 million followers on it. Likewise, he is active on Twitter and Facebook as well and has 99.7K and 245K followers respectively until now.
Rowan Atkinson – Net Worth 2024
According to Celebritynetworth, Rowan Atkinson has a net worth of $150 million. And his main income source must be his comedy skits and other featuring films and roles. He must have earned a lot through his character as “Mr. Bean”.