Rowan Atkinson

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.

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer.

Atkinson was born in Consett, County Durham, England, on 6 January 1955.

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.

After receiving top grades in science A levels, he secured a place at Newcastle University, where he received a BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1975.

He subsequently obtained an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford in 1975, the same college where his father matriculated in 1935, and which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006.

First winning 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.

His master's thesis, published in 1978, considered the application of self-tuning control.

Atkinson briefly embarked on a PhD study before devoting his full attention to acting.

Atkinson first came to prominence on the BBC sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982), receiving the 1981 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.

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.

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.

Solo skits on television (and without dialogue) have included playing an invisible drum kit and an invisible piano.

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.

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.

In addition to his 1981 BAFTA, Atkinson received an Olivier Award for his 1981 West End theatre performance in Rowan Atkinson in Revue.

He played the title roles in the sitcoms Blackadder (1983–1989) and Mr. Bean (1990–1995), and in the film series Johnny English (2003–2018).

Atkinson has appeared in various films, including the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), The Witches (1990), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Rat Race (2002), Scooby-Doo (2002), Love Actually (2003), and Wonka (2023).

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".

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".

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.

He played the voice role of Zazu in the Disney animated film The Lion King (1994).

He also featured on the BBC sitcom The Thin Blue Line (1995–1996) and played the titular character in ITV's Maigret (2016–2017).

Atkinson portrayed Mr. Bean in the film adaptations Bean (1997) and Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007).

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.

Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and 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.

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.

Atkinson was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy in 2003, and among the top 50 comedians ever, in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.

His work in theatre includes the role of Fagin in the 2009 West End revival of the musical Oliver!.

Atkinson was appointed CBE in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity.