:Rowan Atkinson

Atkinson was born in Consett, County Durham, England, on 6 January 1955.{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2019/01/06/UPI-Almanac-for-Sunday-Jan-6-2019/8591546568650/ |title=UPI Almanac for Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 |work=United Press International |date=6 January 2019|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190911222236/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2019/01/06/UPI-Almanac-for-Sunday-Jan-6-2019/8591546568650/|url-status=live |quote=actor Rowan Atkinson in 1955 (age 64)}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rowan-atkinson/bio/173131 |title=Rowan Atkinson: Biography |work=TV Guide |access-date=9 February 2012}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/education/2007/08/25/fafamdet125.xml |title=Family Detective – Rowan Atkinson |first=Nick |last=Barratt |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |date=25 August 2007|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225133236/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/familyhistory/3354493/Family-detective.html|url-status=live}} The youngest of four boys, his parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née 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 UK Independence Party leadership election in 2000; and Rupert.[http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s374382.htm Foreign Correspondent – 22 July 1997: Interview with Rodney Atkinson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807061308/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s374382.htm |date=7 August 2009 }} , Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 January 2007.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk_politics/5221824.stm Profile: UK Independence Party], BBC News, 28 July 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2007.

Atkinson was brought up Anglican.{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Virginia |title=For Rowan Atkinson, comedy can be frightening |publisher=The Record |date=28 February 1992 |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22623334.html|access-date=10 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602104416/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22623334.html|archive-date=2 June 2007|url-status=dead}} He was educated at the Durham Chorister School, a preparatory school, and then at St Bees School. Rodney, Rowan and their older brother Rupert were brought up in Consett and went to school with the future Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at Durham Choristers.{{cite news |date=23 October 2011 |title=The disaster that really worries Mr Bean's brother |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-disaster-that-really-worries-mr-bean-s-brother-1244282.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702033932/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-disaster-that-really-worries-mr-bean-s-brother-1244282.html |archive-date=2 July 2022 |access-date=7 January 2021 |website=The Independent |language=en}} After receiving top grades in science A levels,{{Cite book |title=The True History of the Black Adder: At Last, the Cunning Plan, in All Its Hideous Hilarity |last=Roberts |first=J F |publisher=Random House UK |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-09-956416-4 |page=20}} he secured a place at Newcastle University, where he received a BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1975.{{cite web |title=BBC – Comedy Guide – Rowan Atkinson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/talent/a/atkinson_rowan.shtml |publisher=BBC |date=4 December 2004|access-date=29 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204231354/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/talent/a/atkinson_rowan.shtml|archive-date=4 December 2004}}[https://www.ncl.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-community/inspirational-alumni/ Inspirational Alumni] – website of Newcastle University Atkinson briefly embarked on a PhD study at The Queen's College, Oxford, where his father had studied in 1935, before devoting his full attention to acting.{{cite web |url=https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/who-knew-mr-bean |title=Who Knew? Mr. Bean? |last=The Stuttering Foundation |date=13 March 2019}}{{cite web |url=http://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/old-members/files/newsletters/newsletter3.pdf |title=page 6: "The donation was given in memory of Rowan Atkinson's father, Eric Atkinson, who graduated at Queens in 1935."|access-date=21 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711132702/http://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/old-members/files/newsletters/newsletter3.pdf|archive-date=11 July 2011}}{{cite web |last1=Rees |first1=Jasper |title=Q&A: Comedian Rowan Atkinson |url=https://theartsdesk.com/comedy/theartsdesk-qa-comedian-rowan-atkinson |website=theartsdesk |date=19 January 2013 |access-date=29 August 2024}} He graduated with an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering and was made an Honorary Fellow of the college in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://hoot.queens.ox.ac.uk/old-members/files/newsletters/newsletter8.pdf |title=queens iss 1|access-date=21 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018084752/http://hoot.queens.ox.ac.uk/old-members/files/newsletters/newsletter8.pdf|archive-date=18 October 2012}} His master's thesis, published in 1978, considered the application of self-tuning control.{{Cite book |title=Adaptive Methods for Control System Design|editor-last=Gupta|editor-first=Madan A |publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-87942-207-3 |page=201}}

Atkinson first won national attention in The Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1976. He had already written and performed 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.{{cite news |title=New singing supremo has county roots |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/1130542.new-singing-supremo-county-roots/ |access-date=12 August 2022 |work=Oxford Mail}}

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."[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/31/tvandradio Pick of the Day]", The Guardian, 31 January 2007.

After university, Atkinson did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called Canned Laughter. He gained further national attention when he performed on the third The Secret Policeman's Ball in June 1979 which was broadcast on the BBC, and since then he has appeared on televised skits with various performers including Elton John, John Cleese ("Beekeeping") and Kate Bush, the latter with whom he performed the humorous song "Do Bears... ?" for the British charity event Comic Relief in 1986.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/25/the-10-best-kate-bush-moments |title=The 10 best Kate Bush moments |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |date=25 August 2014 |website=The Guardian |language=en |access-date=21 May 2018 |archive-date=22 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522180906/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/25/the-10-best-kate-bush-moments |url-status=live}} Solo skits on television (and without dialogue) have included playing an invisible drum kit and an invisible piano.{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=J.F. |title=The True History of the Blackadder: The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend |date=2013 |publisher=Random House |page=31}} In October 1979, Atkinson first appeared on 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.{{cite news |title=Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pl0w6 |access-date=12 June 2022 |work=BBC}}

{{quote box|align=left|width=25%|"The main appeal of the series is that of the brilliant comedian Atkinson as the mean-spirited and terminally sarcastic Edmund Blackadder."|source=—Garry Berman.{{cite book |first=Garry |last=Berman |title=Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to The Office |date=2011 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |page=55}}}}

The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to Atkinson taking the lead role of Edmund Blackadder in the BBC mock-historical comedy Blackadder. His co-stars included Tony Robinson (who played his long-suffering sidekick Baldrick), Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. The first series, The Black Adder (1983), co-written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, was set in the mediæval period, with the title character unintelligent and naïve. The second series, Blackadder II (1986), written by Curtis and Ben Elton, marked a turning point for the show. It followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era, with the character reinvented as a devious anti-hero. Metro states, "watching Atkinson work in series two is to watch a master of the sarcastic retort in action".{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} Two sequels followed, 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".{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackaddergoesforth/ |title=Blackadder Goes Forth |website=www.bbc.co.uk}} Possessing an acerbic wit and armed with numerous quick put-downs (which are often wasted on those at whom they are directed), Edmund Blackadder was ranked third (behind Homer Simpson from The Simpsons and Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers) on a 2001 Channel 4 poll of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531160558/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-date=31 May 2009 |title=100 Greatest TV Characters |access-date=26 May 2019 |publisher=Channel 4}}{{cite web |url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/2001/05/05/Y22090001/ |title=100 Greatest ... (100 Greatest TV Characters (Part 1)) |publisher=ITN Source |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221233837/http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/2001/05/05/Y22090001/ |archive-date=21 February 2015 |access-date=13 May 2019}}

File:Atkinson Rowan.jpg

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,{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.tv/eotv/atkinsonrow.htm |title=Museum.tv |publisher=Museum.tv |access-date=21 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005150240/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/atkinsonrow.htm |archive-date=5 October 2014 |url-status=dead}} but Atkinson himself has stated that Jacques Tati's character Monsieur Hulot was the main inspiration.[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mr-bean-rowan-atkinson-20150326-column.html Before and after 'Bean': A talk with Rowan Atkinson, continued]. Los Angeles Times (27 March 2015). Retrieved 22 December 2016 Atkinson states, "The essence of Mr Bean is that he's entirely selfish and self-centred and doesn't actually acknowledge the outside world. He's a child in a man's body. Which is what most visual comedians are about: Stan Laurel, Chaplin, Benny Hill".{{cite news |title=National Buffoon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/11/britishidentity.uk |access-date=31 July 2021 |work=The Guardian}}

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.

Atkinson also portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in The Thin Blue Line (1995–96), a television sitcom written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg,{{cite web |author=mhm grax |url=http://mhmgrax.com/c_tvads.htm |title=Kronenbourg Commercial |publisher=Mhmgrax.com|access-date=21 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714081730/http://mhmgrax.com/c_tvads.htm|archive-date=14 July 2011|url-status=dead}} Fujifilm, and Give Blood. He 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, Johnny English Reborn and Johnny English Strikes Again was based. In 1999, he played the Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death, a special Doctor Who serial produced for the charity telethon Comic Relief.{{cite journal |first=Andrew |last=Pixley |title=DWM Archive Extra: The Curse of Fatal Death |journal=Doctor Who Magazine |issue=328 |page=25 |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=Panini Publishing Ltd. |date=2 April 2003}} Atkinson appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on the BBC's 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, his lap time was quicker than the previous high-profile record holder Tom Cruise, whose time was a 1:44.2.{{cite news |title=Mr Bean blitzes Top Gear track |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/5314371/Mr-Bean-blitzes-Top-Gear-track |access-date=26 June 2019 |work=Stuff.co.nz}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2012/07/27/london-olympics-2012-opening-ceremony-performance-mr-bean-chariots-of-fire/ |title=Mr. Bean's Hilarious 'Chariots of Fire' Skit at Olympics |publisher=hollywoodlife.com |date=27 July 2012|access-date=27 July 2012|archive-date=10 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210063515/http://hollywoodlife.com/2012/07/27/london-olympics-2012-opening-ceremony-performance-mr-bean-chariots-of-fire/|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite news |title=Mr Bean's Olympic orchestral appearance |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19021660 |work=BBC News |date=27 July 2012|access-date=28 July 2012}}

In November 2012, it emerged that 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".Victoria Ward [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9684184/Rowan-Atkinson-suggests-end-is-in-sight-for-Mr-Bean.html "Rowan Atkinson suggests end is in sight for Mr Bean"], The Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2012 He has also said that the role typecast him to a degree.{{cite news |first1=Dominic |last1=Cavendish |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/9690459/Rowan-Atkinson-Goodbye-Mr-Bean.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/9690459/Rowan-Atkinson-Goodbye-Mr-Bean.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Rowan Atkinson: Goodbye, Mr Bean? |date=21 November 2012|access-date=30 August 2015 |location=London}}{{cbignore}} Despite these comments, Atkinson said in 2016 that he would never retire the character of Mr. Bean.{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/rowan-atkinson-i-will-never-wave-goodbye-to-mr-bean/ |title=Mr Bean: Rowan Atkinson will never "retire" from playing the character |work=Radio Times |date=21 March 2016 |access-date=10 October 2018}} Appearing on The Graham Norton Show on the BBC in 2018, Atkinson told Graham Norton that it was unlikely Mr. Bean would reappear on television again before also saying "you must never say never".{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In October 2014, Atkinson also appeared as Mr. Bean in a TV advert for Snickers.{{cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/creativity/mr-bean-hopeless-ninja-most-hilarious-snickers-youre-not-you-ads-yet-160586/ |title=Snickers TV Spot, 'Godzilla' |publisher=ISpot.tv |date=6 October 2014}} 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.{{cite news |title=Comic Relief 2015: Rowan Atkinson to revive Mr Bean for first time in three years |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/news/comic-relief-2015-rowan-atkinson-to-bring-back-mr-bean-for-first-time-in-three-years-10002100.html |access-date=8 July 2020 |newspaper=The Independent}} In 2017, Atkinson appeared as Mr. Bean in the Chinese film Huan Le Xi Ju Ren.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-top-funny-comedian-the-movie-a7639261.html |title=Rowan Atkinson reprises Mr Bean role for Chinese film Top Funny Comedian: The Movie |newspaper=The Independent |last=Shepherd |first=Jack |date=20 March 2017|access-date=30 March 2017}} In February 2019, Atkinson appeared as Mr. Bean in a commercial for Emirati-based telecommunications company Etisalat. Atkinson, who also narrated the commercial, takes on multiple characters: a Scottish warrior, a gentleman and a lady from the Victorian era, a football player, a jungle man, a man revving up a chainsaw, a racing car driver, and a masked sword-wielding Spanish vigilante.{{cite web |url=https://www.lbbonline.com/news/many-mr-beans-cause-tv-trouble-in-new-spot-from-hungry-mans-david-kerr |title=Many Mr. Beans Cause TV Trouble in New Spot from Hungry Man's David Kerr |publisher=LBBOnline |date= |accessdate=17 July 2022}}

Atkinson starred as Jules Maigret in Maigret, a series of television films from ITV.[https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/rowan-atkinson-starts-filming-itv-drama-maigret Rowan Atkinson starts filming ITV drama Maigret], ITV, 8 September 2015

In October 2018, Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) received YouTube's Diamond Play Button for his channel surpassing 10 million subscribers on the video platform. Among the most-watched channels in the world, in 2018 it had more than 6.5 billion views.{{cite news |title=Mr Bean now has over 10 million YouTube subscribers |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/online/news/5077/mr_bean_youtube_award/ |access-date=4 July 2019 |work=British Comedy Guide}} Mr. Bean is also among the most-followed Facebook pages with 94 million followers in July 2020, "more than the likes of Rihanna, Manchester United or Harry Potter".

In January 2014, 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/000001347/mr_bean_animated_series_for_2014/ |title=Rowan Atkinson working on new animated Mr. Bean series |publisher=British Comedy Guide|access-date=30 August 2015 |date=22 January 2014}}

On 6 February 2018, Regular Capital announced that there would be a fifth series of Mr. Bean: The Animated Series in 2019 (voiced by Atkinson). Consisting of 26 episodes, the first two segments, "Game Over" and "Special Delivery", aired on 29 April 2019 on CITV in the UK as well as on Turner channels worldwide.{{cite web |last1=Franks |first1=Nico |title=Mr Bean toon to return next year |url=https://www.c21media.net/mr-bean-toon-to-return-next-year/ |website=C21Media |access-date=9 November 2018}}{{Cite news |date=2019-01-03 |title=Happy New Year 2019: Cartoon Network Year 2018 In Review |url=https://www.regularcapital.com/2019/01/happy-new-year-2019-cartoon-network-year-2018-in-review/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104231118/https://www.regularcapital.com/2019/01/happy-new-year-2019-cartoon-network-year-2018-in-review/ |archive-date=2019-01-04 |work=RegularCapital}} All five series (104 episodes) were also sold to Chinese children's channel CCTV-14 in February 2019.{{cite news |title=Mr Bean goes to China |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2019/02/11/42290/mr_bean_goes_to_china |access-date=8 July 2020 |work=Chortle}}

File:Rowan Atkinson 2011.jpg]]

Atkinson's film career began with a supporting part in the James Bond film 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 The Witches (1990), a film adaptation of Roald Dahl's dark fantasy children's novel. 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 as a verbally bumbling vicar in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, written and directed by his long time collaborator Richard Curtis), 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), jewellery salesman Rufus in another Richard Curtis British-set romantic comedy, Love Actually (2003), and the crime comedy Keeping Mum (2005), which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, and Patrick Swayze.{{cite news |title=Love Actually trivia: Why Rowan Atkinson's Rufus took so long to wrap that gift |url=https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/love-actually-fact-may-blow-120000949.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAO4hreDBm96iQ0wyDo6ii9P8YF2kDAaMaK-cL1R6Beh856L2Rgac1ngnkHi2jYBhClHsu7W6PVfXun8bLzHBd0FdxsJ1C7K_bdnWSgiwyZbWy9aU4WX--MXMBSK3vfg1dTxe91aPXm_AEJy_0ZJgV47LXmW_NvoRJixBj2fWiOD |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=Yahoo}}

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), (again inspired to some extent by Jacques Tati in his film Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot), also became an international success. He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English film series (2003–present).{{cite news |last1=Richardson |first1=Jay |title=Rowan Atkinson to make Johnny English 3 |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2017/05/18/36549/rowan_atkinson_to_make_johnny_english_3|access-date=4 August 2017 |work=Chortle |date=18 May 2017}} In 2023, Atkinson stars as priest, Father Julius, in Wonka, a film which serves as a prequel to the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, exploring Willy Wonka's origins.{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title=Wonka: Warner Bros Movie Adds Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman & Jim Carter |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=14 July 2022 |date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929173347/https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |url-status=live}}

In February 2024, it was announced that he would star in a fourth Johnny English film.{{cite web | url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/johnny-english-4-officially-confirmed-newsupdate/ | title=Johnny English 4 production 'set for summer with Rowan Atkinson return' | Radio Times }}

File:Rowan Atkinson in 2009.jpg on 16 June 2009.]]

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-shows-his-serious-side-683230.html |title=Rowan Atkinson: Mr Bean shows his serious side |work=The Independent |date=9 October 2011 |access-date=21 November 2015 |location=London |first=Ryan |last=Gilbey}} Atkinson undertook a four-month tour of the UK in 1980. A recording of his stage performance at the Grand Opera House in Belfast was subsequently released as Live in Belfast.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afypAAAAQBAJ&q=Live+in+Belfast+rowan+atkinson+article&pg=PA416 |title=The True History of the Blackadder: At Last, the Cunning Plan, in All Its Hideous Hilarity |last=Roberts |first=J. F. |date=2013 |publisher=Penguin Random House |language=en |page=416 |isbn=978-0-09-956416-4}}

In 1984, Atkinson appeared in a West End version of the comedy play The Nerd alongside a 10-year-old Christian Bale.{{cite web |url=http://www.thespiannet.com/actors/B/bale_christian/christian_bale.shtml |title=Christian Bale – Screenshots and Info for Actor 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.{{cite book |editor1-last=Gottlieb|editor1-first=Vera|editor2-last=Allain|editor2-first=Paul |title=The Cambridge Companion to Chekhov |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=257 |chapter=Appendix 2:Select Stage Productions |isbn=978-0-521-58917-8 |date=4 November 2000}}

File:Oliver Theatre Royal Bill Board.jpg

In 2009, during the West End revival of the musical Oliver! based on Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Atkinson played the role of Fagin.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/charles-spencer/4244331/Oliver-musical-First-night-review-at-the-Theatre-Royal-Drury-Lane.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025235428/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/charles-spencer/4244331/Oliver-musical-First-night-review-at-the-Theatre-Royal-Drury-Lane.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2013 |title=Review of Oliver! opening night |work=The Telegraph |date=January 2009 |access-date=24 January 2015 |location=London |first=Charles |last=Spencer}} His portrayal and singing of Fagin at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London gained favourable reviews and he was nominated for an Olivier Award for best actor in a musical or entertainment.{{cite web |url=http://www.olivierawards.com/about/previous-winners/view/item110508/olivier-winners-2010/ |title=Olivier award winners 2010 |work=The Olivier awards |date=March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210154929/http://www.olivierawards.com/about/previous-winners/view/item110508/Olivier-Winners-2010/|archive-date=10 February 2015}}

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9710828/Rowan-Atkinson-stars-in-new-Blackadder-sketch...-on-bankers.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9710828/Rowan-Atkinson-stars-in-new-Blackadder-sketch...-on-bankers.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Review of 'We are most amused' (2012) |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=29 November 2012|access-date=25 January 2015 |location=London |first=Michael |last=Deacon}}{{cbignore}}

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).{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/feb/03/quartermaines-terms-rowan-atkinson-review |title=Quartermaine's Terms – review |work=The Guardian |date=3 February 2013|access-date=27 January 2015}} In December 2013, he revived his schoolmaster sketch for Royal Free Hospital's Rocks with Laughter at the Adelphi Theatre.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/dec/02/royal-free-rocks-with-laughter-review |title=Royal Free Rocks with Laughter – review |newspaper=The Guardian |author=Brian Logan |date=1 December 2013|access-date=21 November 2015}} A few days prior, he performed a selection of sketches in a small coffee venue in front of only 30 people.{{cite web |url=http://www.theindychannel.com/entertainment/rowan-atkinson-plays-surprise-comedy-show-in-london_26375720 |title=Rowan-Atkinson-plays-surprise-comedy-show-in-London_26375720 |author=(SMH/WNTSU/LR) |work=RTV6|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217104405/http://www.theindychannel.com/entertainment/rowan-atkinson-plays-surprise-comedy-show-in-london_26375720|archive-date=17 December 2013}}

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his Mr. Bean persona, Atkinson's other characters rely more on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery. Journalist Anwar Brett writes, "Although his deadpan wit is in evidence as he speaks, Atkinson{{snd}}beloved to Blackadder as much as Bean fans{{snd}}takes his comedy very seriously."{{cite news |title=Rowan Atkinson: "I find it incredibly difficult to fall about laughing" |url=https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9293928.rowan-atkinson-i-find-it-incredibly-difficult-to-fall-about-laughing/ |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=Bournemouth Echo}} On his ability to keep his focus on set during comedic moments, Johnny English director Oliver Parker commented, "There’s a scene where Johnny English is in a meeting going up and down on an office chair. Rowan's focus is astonishing in that scene, because everybody else – he hadn't realised – was having to hold back, and when I said 'cut!' there was an explosion of laughter".

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 has a stammer,{{cite magazine |title=10 Questions for Rowan Atkinson |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655712,00.html|access-date=1 June 2011 |magazine=Time |date=23 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321033315/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655712,00.html|archive-date=21 March 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Dougary |first1=Ginny |title=Rowan Atkinson: 'I cry too much and I find it strange' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/rowan-atkinson-i-cry-too-much-and-i-find-it-strange-ztjtkb2rkvv |access-date=17 January 2021 |work=The Times |date=24 September 2011}} and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.{{cite news |title=Sheer Bean-ius! Nine reasons we love Rowan Atkinson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/ypzhBt9Xk0WYYWjghMCg68/sheer-bean-ius-nine-reasons-we-love-rowan-atkinson |access-date=17 January 2021 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}}

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".{{cite news |title=Blackadder (Series: 3 Episode: 4). Sense and Senility |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackadder/episodes/three/three_sense.shtml |access-date=8 May 2020 |agency=BBC}}

Atkinson's early comedy influences were the sketch comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe, made up of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett, major figures of the 1960s British satire boom, and then Monty Python. Atkinson states, "I remember watching them avidly as students at university". He continued to be influenced by the work of John Cleese following his Monty Python days, regarding Cleese as being "a major, major inspiration", adding, "I think that he and I are quite different in our style and our approach, but certainly it was comedy I liked to watch. He was very physical. Yes, very physical and very angry". He was also influenced by Peter Sellers, whose characters Hrundi Bakshi from The Party (1968) and Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther films influenced Atkinson's characters Mr. Bean and Johnny English.{{cite news |title=Want funny? See his movies. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jul-13-ca-welkos13-story.html |access-date=8 September 2019 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=13 July 2003}}

Of Barry Humphries' Dame Edna Everage, he states, "I loved that character – again, it's the veneer of respectability disguising suburban prejudice of a really quite vicious and dismissive nature". Of visual comedians, Atkinson regards Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd as influential. He was also inspired by French comedian Jacques Tati, stating, "Mr. Hulot's Holiday I remember seeing when I was 17 – that was a major inspiration. He opened a window to a world that I'd never looked out on before, and I thought, "God, that's interesting," how a comic situation can be developed as purely visual and yet it's not under-cranked, it's not speeded-up, it's more deliberate; it takes its time. And I enjoyed that".{{cite news |title=Before and after 'Bean': A talk with Rowan Atkinson, continued |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mr-bean-rowan-atkinson-20150326-column.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=11 June 2019}}

File:RowanAtkinsonMar07.jpg premiere at Leicester Square in London (2007)]]

Atkinson met makeup artist Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s when she was working for the BBC, and they married in February 1990.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/beany-wonder/article2275288.ece |title=Beany wonder |work=The Hindu |date=10 June 2007 |access-date=11 November 2015}} They had two children together,{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8683435/Rowan-Atkinson-Mr-Bean-star-known-for-satire-and-love-of-fast-cars.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8683435/Rowan-Atkinson-Mr-Bean-star-known-for-satire-and-love-of-fast-cars.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Rowan Atkinson: Mr Bean star known for satire and love of fast cars |work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=30 January 2014 |location=London |first=Andrew |last=Hough |date=5 August 2011}}{{cbignore}} and lived in Apethorpe.{{cite web |url=https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/people/apethorpe-village-pub-gets-new-lease-life-1366800 |title=Apethorpe village pub gets new lease of life |work=Northamptonshire Telegraph |last=Bagley |first=Alison |date=16 January 2020 |access-date=27 June 2021}} His son Ben was an army officer in the Brigade of Gurkhas.{{cite web | url=https://nepalitimes.com/news/mr-bean-s-son-is-a-gurkha | title=Mr Bean's son is a Gurkha | date=19 October 2019 }} In 2013, at the age of 58, Atkinson began a relationship with 32-year-old comedian Louise Ford after they met while performing in a play together. Ford ended her relationship with comedian James Acaster in order to be with Atkinson,{{cite web |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/111025507/rose-matafeos-exboyfriend-opens-up-about-being-dumped-for-mr-bean |title=Rose Matafeo's ex-boyfriend James Acaster opens up about being dumped for Mr Bean |work=Stuff |date=5 March 2019 |accessdate=7 April 2021}} who in turn separated from his wife in 2014 and divorced her in 2015.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11985967/Rowan-Atkinson-divorced-in-65-seconds-on-grounds-of-his-unreasonable-behaviour.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11985967/Rowan-Atkinson-divorced-in-65-seconds-on-grounds-of-his-unreasonable-behaviour.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Rowan Atkinson divorced in 65 seconds on grounds of his 'unreasonable behaviour' |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=10 November 2015 |access-date=11 November 2015}}{{cbignore}} He has one child with Ford.{{Cite web |date=4 March 2019 |title=Rose Matafeo's ex-boyfriend James Acaster opens up about being dumped for Mr Bean |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/111025507/rose-matafeos-exboyfriend-opens-up-about-being-dumped-for-mr-bean |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |last=Dargis |first=Manohla |date=7 February 2005 |title=Rowan Atkinson: The Driven Man – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=42187 |url-status=dead |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 August 2006 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125132523/http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=42187}} A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212959/ |title=Full Throttle |publisher=IMDb }}

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.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/485692.stm |work=BBC News |title=Mr Bean crashes sports car |date=27 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.{{cite news |last=Dunning |first=Craig |title=Mr Bean and Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson in hospital after McLaren F1 supercar crash |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=5 August 2011 |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/story-e6freuy9-1226109003161|access-date =5 August 2011}}{{Cite news |last=Merrick |first=Hollie-Rae |date=2011-08-04 |title=Update: TV star Rowan Atkinson in hospital following Cambridgeshire crash |url=http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/news/cambridgeshire_tv_star_rowan_atkinson_in_hospital_following_crash_1_985153 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731132337/http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/update_tv_star_rowan_atkinson_in_hospital_following_cambridgeshire_crash_1_985153 |archive-date=2012-07-31 |access-date=2024-09-10 |work=Evening Star}} 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.{{cite news |last=Warnes |first=Sophie |title=Rowan Atkinson crash forces insurers to pay out record £910,000 to repair supercar |work=The Independent |date=7 February 2013 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rowan-atkinson-crash-forces-insurers-to-pay-out-record-910000-to-repair-supercar-8486081.html|access-date =26 March 2015 |location=London}} He has previously owned a Honda NSX,Top Gear Series 17, episode 4 an Audi A8,{{cite web |url=http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/the-cars-of-the-stars-rowan-atkinson.aspx |title=The cars of the stars: Rowan Atkinson |publisher=bankrate.com |access-date=30 April 2014}} a Škoda Superb, and a Honda Civic Hybrid.{{cite web |last=Wormald |first=Andrew |url=http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=147861295 |title=Stars & their Cars: Rowan Atkinson |publisher=MSN |date=31 May 2011 |access-date=21 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918033603/http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=147861295 |archive-date=18 September 2009}}

File:Rowan Atkinson at Goodwood Revival 2009.jpg M at the Goodwood Revival motor racing festival in England in 2009]]

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries a chance meeting with a man he later realised 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 chétif."Alan Clark Diaries (Phoenix, 1993) p. 80

In July 2001, Atkinson crashed an Aston Martin V8 Zagato at an enthusiasts' meeting, but walked away unhurt. This was while he was competing in the Aston Martin Owners Club event, at the Croft Racing Circuit, Darlington.{{cite news |title=Atkinson unharmed after car crash |work=BBC News |date=9 July 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1430754.stm|access-date=27 February 2016}}

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."{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.tv/eotv/atkinsonrow.htm |title=Museum.tv |publisher=Museum.tv|access-date=21 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005150240/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/atkinsonrow.htm|archive-date=5 October 2014|url-status=dead}}

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, which at the time granted him first place on the leaderboard; subsequently, only Matt LeBlanc set a faster time.

A February 2024 report by the House of Lords partly blamed Atkinson for poor sales of electric cars in the UK by "damaging" the public's perception of the vehicles. The report criticised a June 2023 opinion piece by Atkinson in The Guardian, who as an early adopter of electric vehicles, described EVs as "fast, quiet and, until recently, very cheap to run", but burdened by battery issues and misleading beliefs on their impact on the environment.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/06/rowan-atkinson-blamed-for-poor-electric-car-sales-by-peers/ |title=Rowan Atkinson blamed for poor electric car sales |website=The Telegraph |date=6 February 2024|access-date=6 February 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/03/electric-vehicles-early-adopter-petrol-car-ev-environment-rowan-atkinson/ |title=I love electric vehicles – and was an early adopter. But increasingly I feel duped |website=The Guardian |date=23 June 2023|access-date=6 February 2024}}

In March 2001, while Atkinson was on holiday in 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 Wilson Airport in Nairobi.{{cite news |date=24 March 2001 |title=Atkinson 'averted air disaster' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1239279.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720230145/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1239279.stm |archive-date=20 July 2018 |access-date=5 July 2015 |work=BBC News}}

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.{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article535556.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012200520/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article535556.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2008 |title=Rowan Atkinson leads crusade against religious hatred Bill |last=Freeman |first=Simon |date=20 June 2005 |work=The Times |location=UK|access-date=22 September 2009}}

In 2009, he criticised 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.{{cite news |last=Geen |first=Jessica |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11670.html |title=Rowan Atkinson attacks gay hate law |newspaper=Pink News|access-date=21 June 2011 |date=19 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610223606/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11670.html|archive-date=10 June 2011|url-status=dead}} Atkinson opposed the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 to outlaw inciting religious hatred, arguing that, "freedom to criticise ideas – any ideas even if they are sincerely held beliefs – is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. And the law which attempts to say you can criticise or ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed."{{cite news |date=7 December 2004 |title=Atkinson's religious hate worry |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4073997.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223074712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4073997.stm |archive-date=23 February 2018 |access-date=9 January 2016 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1478381/Atkinson-defends-right-to-offend.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1478381/Atkinson-defends-right-to-offend.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Atkinson defends right to offend |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=7 December 2004 |access-date=9 January 2016}}{{cbignore}}

In October 2012, he voiced his support for the Reform Section 5 campaign,{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9616750/Rowan-Atkinson-we-must-be-allowed-to-insult-each-other.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9616750/Rowan-Atkinson-we-must-be-allowed-to-insult-each-other.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Rowan Atkinson: we must be allowed to insult each other |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=18 October 2012|access-date=21 October 2012 |location=London}}{{cbignore}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://reformsection5.org.uk/2012/10/rowan-atkinsons-speech-at-rs5-parliamentary-reception |title=Rowan Atkinson's address to the Reform Section 5 parliamentary reception |date=16 October 2012 |publisher=reformsection5.org.uk|access-date=21 October 2012}} In February 2014, Parliament passed a redaction of the statute which removed the word "insulting" following pressure from citizens.The Crime and Courts Act 2013, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/22/section/57 section 57(2)]SI 2013/2981, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/2981/article/3/made art 3]

In 2018, Atkinson defended comments made by Boris Johnson over wearing the burqa, which were criticised as Islamophobic, and for which Johnson later apologised.{{cite news |last1=Elgot |first1=Jessica |date=7 August 2018 |title=Boris Johnson accused of 'dog-whistle' Islamophobia over burqa comments |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/06/boris-johnsons-burqa-remarks-fan-flames-of-islamophobia-says-mp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624201302/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/06/boris-johnsons-burqa-remarks-fan-flames-of-islamophobia-says-mp |archive-date=24 June 2023 |access-date=19 December 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite news |date=7 August 2018 |title=Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for racist 'burka' comments |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/29/boris-johnson-refuses-to-apologise-for-racist-burka-comments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219014215/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/29/boris-johnson-refuses-to-apologise-for-racist-burka-comments |archive-date=19 December 2023 |access-date=29 November 2019 |work=Al Jazeera}}{{cite web |last1=Langford |first1=Eleanor |date=5 December 2019 |title=Boris Johnson finally apologises for comparing women in burqas to 'letter boxes' |url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/boris-johnson-finally-apologises-for-comparing-women-in-burqas-to-letter-boxes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223151506/https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/boris-johnson-finally-apologises-for-comparing-women-in-burqas-to-letter-boxes |archive-date=23 December 2023 |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=Politics Home}} Atkinson wrote to The Times stating, "as a lifelong beneficiary of the freedom to make jokes about religion, I do think that Boris Johnson's joke about wearers of the burka resembling letterboxes is a pretty good one."{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/blackadder-star-rowan-atkinson-backs-boris-johnson-in-burka-row-5frqhr7rq |title=Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson backs Boris Johnson in burka row |first=Sam |last=Coates |work=The Times}}{{cite news |url=https://news.sky.com/story/rowan-atkinson-among-those-leaping-to-boris-johnsons-defence-over-burka-comments-11468114 |title=Rowan Atkinson defends Boris Johnson over burka 'joke' |work=Sky News}} Atkinson's remarks were condemned by former colleagues and fans.{{cite web |title=Rowan Atkinson savaged by fans for supporting Boris Johnson's "Islamophobic" comments |url=https://www.iambirmingham.co.uk/2018/08/10/rowan-atkinson-savaged-fans-supporting-boris-johnsons-islamophobic-comments/ |website=I Am Birmingham |access-date=19 December 2023 |date=10 August 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Wil |title=Actor Rowan Atkinson causes controversy after calling Boris Johnson's burqa comment a "pretty good" joke |url=https://www.joe.ie/news/rowan-atkinson-boris-johnson-burqa-636227 |website=Joe |date=10 August 2018 |access-date=19 December 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Kearns |first1=Madeleine |title=Boris Johnson Jokes about Burkas and Brits Go Mad |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/boris-johson-burka-joke-british-press-goes-mad/ |website=National Review |access-date=19 December 2023 |date=10 August 2018}}

In August 2020, Atkinson added his signature to a letter coordinated by Humanist Society Scotland along with twenty other public figures including novelist Val McDermid, playwright Alan Bissett, and activist Peter Tatchell, which expressed concern about the Scottish National Party's proposed Hate Crime and Public Order Bills. The letter argued the bill would "risk stifling freedom of expression".{{cite web |url=https://www.humanism.scot/what-we-do/news/coalition-of-artists-authors-journalists-and-campaigners-call-for-changes-to-hate-crime-bill/ |title=Coalition of artists, authors, journalists and campaigners call for changes to hate crime bill |first1=Fraser |last1=Sutherland |date=August 2020 |website=Humanist Society Scotland}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/mr-bean-star-rowan-atkinson-22498977 |title=Rowan Atkinson joins backlash against Scottish Government's Hate Crime Bill |first=Chris |last=McCall |date=11 August 2020 |website=Daily Record}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53735307 |title=Author Val McDermid says hate crime bill threatens free speech |date=11 August 2020 |work=BBC News}}

In January 2021, Atkinson criticised the rise of cancel culture. He said, "It's important that we're exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob, roaming the streets looking for someone to burn. The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you're with us or against us. And if you're against us, you deserve to be 'cancelled'."{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-cancel-culture_n_5ff4bd3ac5b65a92291226e6 |title=Rowan Atkinson Opines On 'Weight Of Responsibility' Of Playing Mr. Bean |first=Elyse |last=Wanshel |date=5 January 2021 |website=HuffPost}}

{{Main|Rowan Atkinson filmography}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

• 1979–1982: Not the Nine O'Clock News
• 1983–1989: Blackadder
• 1983: Never Say Never Again
• 1988: The Appointments of Dennis Jennings
• 1989: The Tall Guy
• 1990–1995: Mr. Bean
• 1990: The Witches
• 1993: Hot Shots! Part Deux
• 1994: Four Weddings and a Funeral
• 1994: The Lion King
• 1995–1996: The Thin Blue Line
• 1997: Bean
• 2000: Maybe Baby
• 2001: Rat Race
• 2002: Scooby-Doo
• 2003: Johnny English
• 2003: Love Actually
• 2005: Keeping Mum
• 2007: Mr. Bean's Holiday
• 2011: Johnny English Reborn
• 2017: Top Funny Comedian: The Movie (original title: Huan Le Xi Ju Ren)
• 2018: Johnny English Strikes Again
• 2022: Man vs. Bee
• 2023: Wonka

}}

Atkinson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Birthday Honours for his contribution to drama and charity.{{London Gazette|issue=60534 |supp=y|page=7|date=15 June 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22904807 |title=Birthday Honours: Adele joins Blackadder stars on list |work=BBC News |date=14 June 2013 |access-date=8 September 2013}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{IMDb name}}
• [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/571262/index.html Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline]
• {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mg58 Rowan Atkinson] interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 20 May 1988

{{Rowan Atkinson}}

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