Atkinson, Rowan Sebastian

▪ 1997

      It is no surprise that a painfully shy person would hide behind a mask, but it can be highly risky to borrow that mask's main features from a gargoyle. Such were the facial contortions and attributes displayed with manic genius by British comic actor Rowan Atkinson, whose alter ego, Mr. Bean, made his transatlantic jump to U.S. television in 1996. Transcending both the traditional lines drawn by "English humour" and the verbal repartee of his previous TV incarnation, Blackadder, Atkinson found millions of devotees for his gormless, all-but-silent working-class nerd.

      Born to wealthy Durham farmers on Jan. 6, 1955, Atkinson grew up knowing the importance of education, hard work, and a proper career. He attended Durham Cathedral Choristers' School, where he was dubbed "Moon Man" (among other things) by his peers owing to the "idea that I was related to an alien force." At the University of Newcastle upon Tyne he studied electrical engineering, progressing to the University of Oxford for his master's degree. Taking to the stage to satisfy an inner urge, he met Richard Curtis and Howard Goodall, and together they ventured to the Edinburgh Festival. There his classic schoolmaster sketch rocketed him to fame and the distinction of being at the time the youngest person to have a one-man show in London's West End. In 1979 the satirical television show "Not the Nine O'Clock News" introduced him to millions of delighted British viewers.

      In 1983 the first installment of "Blackadder," written by Atkinson and Curtis, slithered onto British TV screens, featuring the twisted relationship between four incarnations of the groveling, spineless Lord Blackadder and his foully fleshed retainer, Baldrick, as they cajoled their way through history from the Crusades to the end of World War I. The series established Atkinson as one of England's finest comic actors and led to "Mr. Bean" (1990), which won the 1990 Montreux Festival Golden Rose, a 1991 International Emmy for best popular arts program, and a 1994 American Cable Ace Award. At its peak "Mr. Bean" was British television's most popular comedy, with 18 million viewers.

      Atkinson's motion picture credits included The Witches, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and The Lion King, and a film version of "Mr. Bean" was in the works. Atkinson's latest TV incarnation was Police Inspector Raymond Fowler in "The Thin Blue Line."

      Despite his success, the fiercely private Atkinson insisted that he was not a funny man. "I am," he said, "essentially a rather quiet, dull person, who just happens to be a performer."

      (LESLEY EDMONDSON)

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