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Revision as of 19:40, 16 March 2008 by Maelefique (talk | contribs) (→Film: typo fix of "alngside")(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Rowan Atkinson | |
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 Rowan Atkinson promoting the film Bean in 1997 | |
| Born | Rowan Sebastian Atkinson |
| Years active | 1979-Present |
| Spouse | Sunetra Sastry (1990-) |
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English comedian, actor and writer, famous for his title roles in the British television comedies Blackadder and Mr. Bean. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.
Early life
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born in Consett, County Durham in 1955. His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and his wife Ella May (née Bambridge), who had married on 29 June 1945. His elder brother, Rodney Atkinson, is a eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000.
Atkinson was raised Anglican. He was educated at Durham Choristers School, followed by St Bees School, and studied electrical engineering at Newcastle University. He continued with an MSc at The Queen's College, Oxford, first achieving notice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1976. At Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.
Career
Television
After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for ITV in 1979 called Canned Laughter. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.
The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. Despite a mixed reception, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1985. Blackadder II followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in two sequels Blackadder the Third (1987) (set in the Regency era), and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) (set in the First World War). The Blackadder series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning longer television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988).
Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Charlie Chaplin. During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday.
Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Hitachi electrical goods, Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Most famously, he appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in Johnny English was based.
Film
Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and a leading role in Dead on Time with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy in 1989. He also appeared alongside Angelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux, a parody of Rambo starring Charlie Sheen.
Atkinson, with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar, gained further recognition in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. That same year he featured in Walt Disney's The Lion King as Zazu the Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), and Love Actually (2003).
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 in 1997 with Bean to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and may be the last time he plays the character. He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English in 2003. Keeping Mum (2005, released in the U.S. in 2006) was a departure for Atkinson, starring in a straight role.
Comedic style
One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a Blackadder episode.
Atkinson's style is often visually-based. This visual style, which has been compared to Charlie Chaplin, sets Atkinson apart as most modern television and film comedies rely heavily on dialogue, and stand-up comedy is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face".
Personal life
Marriage & children
Atkinson married Sunetra Sastry in 1990, having met her professionally on the set of Blackadder. They married quietly at the Russian Tea Room in New York City, U.S., with Stephen Fry acting as the best man. The couple have two children, Lily and Benjamin, and live in the Northamptonshire village of Apethorpe in England.
In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill — on the grounds that the Bill would give religious groups a "weapon of disproportionate power" whose threat would engender a culture of self-censorship among artists.
Cars
With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car and Evo.
Atkinson also holds a UK HGV licence, gained because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor.
A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned Driven Man, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.
Atkinson's car collection is dominated by Aston Martins, including the DB7 Vantage used in Johnny English. His Aston Martin V8 Zagato, featuring a novelty registration plate, was driven by his character Dexter in the film The Tall Guy. Atkinson was cited for speeding in the car, just as his character was in the movie. He also received a driving ban as a result of the incident. He also races in his V8 Zagato, from which he escaped unhurt after crashing it into a barrier at an Aston Martin Owners Club event in Croft Circuit in 2001. He is reported to have placed an advanced order for a Morgan Aero Max, which costs £110,000.
Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns one McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident with an Austin Metro. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8, a Honda Civic Hybrid, and a Bugatti Veyron, which crashed recently.
One car 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. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one." He appeared to relent from this position when reviewing a Porsche 965 for Car magazine in the early 1990s.
Television appearances
- The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International
- Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
- Rainbow in the Dark (1983), as the traveller in Ronnie James Dio's movie clip
- Blackadder as Prince Edmund (Series 1), Lord Blackadder (Series 2) & Edmund Blackadder (Series 3 & 4) (1983-1989)
- Mr. Bean as Mr. Bean (1989–1995, 1997, 2002, 2007)
- Bernard and the Genie as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)
- Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
- The Thin Blue Line as Inspector Raymond Fowler(1995–1996)
- The Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecasts, including appearing in:
- Blackadder: The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)
- Blackadder's Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Blackadder (1988)
- Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr Bean (1991)
- (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr Bean (1992)
- Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr Bean (1993)
- Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995)
- "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death" as The Doctor (1999)
- Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001)
- Lying to Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003)
- Spider-Plant Man as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)
- Mr Bean's Wedding as Mr Bean (2007)
Filmography
- The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982), himself and various roles
- Dead on Time (1983), Bernard Fripp
- Never Say Never Again (1983), Nigel Small-Fawcett
- The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1989), Dr. Schooner
- The Tall Guy (1989), Ron Anderson
- The Witches (1990), Mr. Stringer
- Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Dexter Hayman
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Father Gerald
- The Lion King (1994), Zazu (voice)
- Bean (1997), Mr. Bean
- Maybe Baby (2000), Mr. James
- Rat Race (2001), Enrico Pollini
- Scooby-Doo (2002), Emile Mondavarious
- Johnny English (2003), Johnny English
- Love Actually (2003), Rufus
- Keeping Mum (2005), Reverend Walter Goodfellow
- Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), Mr. Bean
Live Show
- Rowan Atkinson Live (2007), a DVD release of a filmed 1991 performance in Boston
Discography
Albums
- Rowan Atkinson Live in Belfast (1982, re-released 1996)
- Not Just a Pretty Face (1987, re-released 1994)
Compilations
- The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
- Not The Nine O'Clock News – The Album (1980)
- We Are Most Amused: The Best of British Comedy (1981)
Awards
- Variety Club Award for BBC Personality of the Year - 1980
- BAFTA Best Light Entertainment Performance - 1989
References
- "The A-Z of laughter (part one)", The Observer, 7 December 2003, retrieved 7 January 2007
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4141019.stm
- ^ Barratt, Nick (25 August 2007). "Family Detective - Rowan Atkinson". The Daily Telegraph.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Foreign Correspondent - 22 July 1997: Interview with Rodney Atkinson, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 27 January 2007
- Profile: UK Independence Party, BBC News, 28 July 2006, retrieved 27 January 2007
- Mann, Virginia (1992-02-28). "FOR ROWAN ATKINSON, COMEDY CAN BE FRIGHTENING". The Record. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ .While at school, he was a classmate of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.The bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy, "Rowan Atkinson", retrieved 7 January 2007
- "It's not easy being Bean". Toronto Star. 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=42187
- http://www.celebritywonder.com/html/rowanatkinson_trivia1.html
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/485692.stm
- http://www.nemonis.net/history/history.html
- http://cars.uk.msn.com/Fun/article.aspx?cp-documentid=474669
- Wormald, Andrew (6 October 2005). "Stars & their Cars:Rowan Atkinson". MSN. p. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ_FgL5l1og
- ^ The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Rowan Atkinson article, retrieved 7 January 2007
External links
- Rowan Atkinson at IMDb
- Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline
- Interview in the Scotsman newspaper
- Interview for McLaren Group re his love for cars
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