Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson Headshot

Actor • Comedian • Writer

Birth Date: January 6, 1955

Age: 69 years old

Birth Place: Consett, County Durham, UK

Sharp-tongued comic performer known for playing sardonic characters on English TV. Atkinson began his career writing with Richard Curtis (who went on to script much of Atkinson's subsequent work) and performing in comedy revues throughout England. This led to a stint on the celebrated comedy series, "Not the Nine O'Clock News," for which he wrote and acted. Atkinson became famous starring in "The Blackadder," a BBC "situation tragedy" co-written with Curtis. The show spawned three sequel series--"Blackadder II," "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth"--which chronicled the life of the initially aristocratic Edmond Blackadder and his gradual descent down the English social ladder. Miranda Richardson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry co-starred with Atkinson in the show's various incarnations.

Atkinson's film career has been less exalted, consisting of small comic supporting roles in the Curtis-scripted "The Tall Guy" (1989), Nicolas Roeg's "The Witches" (1990), "Hot Shots! Part Deux" (1993) and a scene-stealing turn as a cleric prone to malapropisms in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994). Back on English TV, he and Curtis wrote and Atkinson starred in "Mr. Bean" (1990-92), a near-silent comedy series that showcased the performer's considerable physical comic abilities. Atkinson took this accident-prone character to the big screen in the mildly enjoyable "Bean" (1997). Additionally, he returned to the series format as a by-the-book police commander in "The Thin Blue Line" (BBC, 1996-98).

In 1999 Atkinson reprised the role of Edmond Blackadder for the first time in a decade for "Blackadder: Back and Forth," a three-minute short in which he co-starred with the entire original cast, and he assumed the role of the latest incarnation of the British sci-fi cult hero Dr. Who for the satirical "Comic Relief: Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death." He also hilariously cameoed in the uneven romance "Maybe Baby" (2000) alongside a host of famous name talents from the UK British for writer-director Ben Elton, a frequent Atkinson colleague. Joining another huge ensemble of comedic talents, Atkinson's next major American outing was director Jerry Zucker's manic but lackluster caper film "Rat Race" (2001), a nod to the big comedies with outsized casts of the 1960s. He vocally reprised Mr. Bean for an British animated series in 2002, and that same year also helped bring a classic animated series to life on the big screen as Spooky Island Owner Emile Mondavarious in "Scooby Doo." In 2003 Atkinson returned to the big screen again as accident-prone secret agent "Johnny English," a character he first created for a series of English credit card commericals from 1992 to 1998/ Reteaming with his frequent producing collaborator Tim Bevan of Working Title Films, Atkinson developed the movie's story and gags over several months with screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade--who previously penned the honest-to-goodness 007 films "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day"--and director Peter Howitt. The spy comedy proved to be an international sensation, grossing over $100 million in its first 39 days of release even before it was opened in the United States. He then made another scene-stealing cameo appearance as a jewelry salesman in Curtis' self-penned directorial debut "Love Actually" (2003). Atkinson next starred opposite Maggie Smith in the crime comedy "Keeping Mum" (2005), followed by the sequels "Mr. Bean's Holiday" (2007) and "Johnny English Reborn" (2011).

Credits

Mr Bean Special

Actor
Show
2023

WonkaStream

Actor
Father Julius
Movie
2023
82%

Wonka (Acessibilidade)

Actor
Father Julius
Movie
2023

Man vs BeeStream

Actor
Series
2022
74%

Man vs BeeStream

Creator
Series
2022
74%

Happy Birthday Mr Bean

Guest
Show
2021

Ray Martin Presents: Laughs and Larrikins

Guest Star
Show
2019

Italia sì

Actor
Show
2018

Couch Surfing

Guest
Show
2018

Handy Bean

Actor
Mr. Bean
Show
2018

Johnny English Strikes Again

Actor
Johnny English
Movie
2018

Johnny English Strikes Again

Producer
Movie
2018

Red Nose Day

Guest
Show
2017

Red Nose Day Actually

Actor
Rufus
Movie
2017

Maigret in Montmartre

Actor
Chief Inspector Jules Maigret
Movie
2017

Maigret

Actor
Jules Maigret
Show
2016

Maigret Sets a Trap

Actor
Jules Maigret
Movie
2016

Maigret et son mort

Actor
Chief Inspector Jules Maigret
Movie
2016

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

Blackadder: The Whole Rotten Saga

Writer
Show
2011

Johnny English Reborn

Actor
Johnny English
Movie
2011

Johnny English Reborn

Executive Producer
Movie
2011

Wetten, dass..?

Actor
Show
2010

Lorraine

Actor
Show
2010

The Best of Mr. Bean

Actor
Show
2009

Blackadder Rides Again

Actor
Show
2008

The Graham Norton ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2007

Che tempo che fa

Actor
Show
2007

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Actor
Mr. Bean
Movie
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

The One Show

Guest
Show
2006

Keeping Mum

Actor
Walter Goodfellow
Movie
2006

Stracult

Actor
Show
2004

Cbeebies Bedtime Stories

Host
Show
2004

Mickey's PhilharMagic

Voice
Zazu
Show
2003

Johnny English

Actor
Johnny English
Movie
2003

Love ActuallyStream

Actor
Rufus
Movie
2003
64%

Top GearStream

Guest
Reality
2002

미스터 빈

Executive Producer
Show
2002

Mr Bean: The Animated Series

Actor
Mr. Bean
Show
2002

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Creator
Show
2002

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Executive Producer
Show
2002

Mr Bean: The Animated Series

Producer
Show
2002

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Voice
Mr. Bean
Show
2002

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Writer
Show
2002

Scooby-DooStream

Actor
Mondavarious
Movie
2002

Arena

Self
Show
2001

Rat RaceStream

Actor
Mr. Pollini
Movie
2001
45%

Blackadder: Back and Forth

Actor
Show
2000

Blackadder: Back and Forth

Writer
Show
2000

Maybe Baby

Actor
Mr. James
Movie
2000

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

BeanStream

Actor
Mr. Bean
Movie
1997
43%

BeanStream

Executive Producer
Movie
1997
43%

BeanStream

Writer
Movie
1997
43%

Rowan Atkinson Live

Actor
Show
1996

The Thin Blue Line

Actor
Show
1995

Four Weddings and a FuneralStream

Actor
Father Gerald - Wedding Two
Movie
1994
96%

The Lion KingStream

Voice
Zazu the Hornbill
Movie
1994
93%

Hot Shots! Part Deux

Actor
Dexter Hayman
Movie
1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Guest
Talk
1992

Bernard and the Genie

Actor
Charles Pinkworth
Movie
1991

Schmidteinander

Guest
Show
1990

Mr. BeanStream

Actor
Mr. Bean
Series
1990
100%

Mr. BeanStream

Director
Series
1990
100%

Mr. BeanStream

Writer
Series
1990
100%

The Witches

Actor
Mr. Stringer
Movie
1990

Blackadder Goes Forth

Actor
Capt. Edmund Blackadder
Show
1989

A Bit of Fry & Laurie

Actor
Nigel Havers
Show
1989

The Tall Guy

Actor
Ron Anderson
Movie
1989

Blackadder's Christmas Carol

Actor
Blackadder
Show
1988

Blackadder the Third

Actor
Edmund Blackadder
Show
1987

Blackadder II

Actor
Lord Edmund Blackadder
Show
1986

BlackadderStream

Actor
Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
Series
1983

BlackadderStream

Writer
Series
1983

Dead on Time

Actor
Bernard Fripp
Show
1983

Dead on Time

Writer
Show
1983

Cleo and John

Actor
Show
1982

Rowan Atkinson's Canned Laughter

Actor
Robert Box/Dave Perry/Mr. Marshall
Show
1979

Rowan Atkinson's Canned Laughter

Writer
Show
1979

Not the Nine O'Clock News

Actor
Show
1979

The Secret Policeman's Ball

Actor
Movie
1979

The South Bank Show

Self
Show
1978

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutRowan Atkinson