Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, is a name that needs no introduction. This is the name that 1990s kids knew, and till today, it’s in the limelight and is everyone’s favorite. Mr. Bean is a comic character that has been the apple of everyone’s eye. His sense of humor, comic timing, nonverbal acting, storylines—everything is beyond perfection.
The special thing about this character is that he rarely speaks in any scene; his gestures and acting speak louder than words. In this article, we will discuss everything about the actor behind this iconic character.
Biography
Rowan was born on January 6, 1955, in Consett, County Durham, England, UK. He shares a lovely family of seven members: his father, his mother, and three elder brothers. He is one of the most qualified people in the entertainment industry. After getting his degrees from Newcastle and Oxford Universities, he started his career in screenwriting and comedy.
He has notable work in radio, TV, films, and theatre. Rowan’s journey started with radio in 1978. He started working with BBC Radio 3 and hosted a comedy show, The Atkinson People. Rowan and Richard Curtis scripted that show and Griff Rhys Jones produced the show. He then moved to TV, theatre, and films and earned huge success, where his sense of humor earned him fame.
Rowan’s most famous and notable works include Not the Nine O’Clock News (1979); Blackadder (1982); Dead on Time (1983); Never Say Never Again (1983); The Tall Guy(1989); and Mr. Bean (1990), a character that rarely speaks but whose gestures and expressions nail the act.
Sohail Ahmed is also one of the most popular comedians in the sub-continent. His sense of humor has also won millions of hearts.
Social Media Accounts
Mr. Bean is a prevalent character who has won thousands and millions of hearts worldwide. Rowan is present on social media under the name Mr. Bean and has a huge fan following. Let’s see his social media accounts and his fan base:
| 9.3M Followers | |
| 138M Followers | |
| 317.3k Followers | |
| YouTube | 32M Subscribers |
| TikTok | 4.6M Followers |
| Website | Official Online Store |
Just like Mr. Bean, Khaby Lame also creates funny and comic videos without dialogues and has millions of fan following.
Wiki Facts
Atkinson is a person who is loved by the audience regardless of gender, age, region, or language. People are always searching for Atkinson’s life, facts, and figures. Here are a few things that the majority of people want to know:
| Full Name | Rowan Sebastian Atkinson |
| Nickname | Row Mr. Bean |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | January 6, 1955 |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Age | 68 (as of 2023) |
| Birthplace | Consett, County Durham, England, UK |
| Home Town | Durham, England |
| Current Residence | Highbury London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Religion | Atheist |
| Education | Electrical and Electronic Engineering M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering |
| Profession | Actor, comedian, screenwriter, businessman |
| Net worth | $130 million (estimations) |
| Weight | 81 kgs |
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Hair Color | Dark Brown |
| Body Type | Slim and Fit |
| Body Measurements | Update Soon |
| Bust Size | Update Soon |
| Shoe Size | Update Soon |
| Dress Size | Update Soon |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Girlfriend | Leslie Ash (ex) |
| Spouse | Sunetra Sastry (ex) Louise Ford (ex) |
| Children | Benjamin Atkinson Lily Atkinson |
| Hobby | Dancing Gyming |
Here are some more Capricorn celebrities, please have a look: Kim Tar Hyung, Dananeer Mobeen, Kim Ji Soo, and Arunita Kanjilal.
Parents and Siblings
Rowan was born and grew up in a loving and supportive family of seven members. He has his father, Eric, a farmer; his mother, Elle May, a housewife; and three brothers, Paul, Rodney, and Rupert. His family supported him at every step of his life.
Rodney is the eldest brother, a British academic, economic, and political journalist and also a businessman; Paul died as an infant; and Rupert is a sports journalist. His family is well-settled and famous for their reasons.
| Father | Eric Atkinson |
| Mother | Elle May Atkinson |
| Brother(s) | Paul Atkinson Rodney Atkinson Rupert Atkinson |
| Sister | N/A |
Early Age
Rowan has completed his schooling at Cathedral Choristers’ School, Durham. After intermediate education, he got admission to Newcastle University, earning a degree in Electrical Engineering. After getting a previous degree, he then enrolled at Oxford University and got his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Moreover, he was studying and paying attention to his comic sense and facial expressions. He started practicing his skills in comics and getting applause from his fellows. Atkinson joined the Experimental Theatre Club and the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Here, he started writing comics and acting, polishing his skills. During his studies at Oxford, he met the actor Richard Curtis and began working with him. This bond proved to be a long-lasting one as they both worked together on many projects. Both performed together at the Edinburgh Festival and won the hearts of thousands.
In 1978, he began working on the radio on a show called The Atkinson People. After that, in 1979, he worked on the TV show Not The Nine O’Clock News and millions of people watched him.
Career
Rowan’s career came into the limelight with the show “Not The Nine O’Clock News“. He won three awards for his performance, including an Emmy Award and two British Academy Awards. The show gained a lot of love from people, giving him a quick career start.
After this successful show, he got the lead role in the most noticeable and one of the most popular BBC shows of the time, Blackaddar, in 1983. This show aired from 1983 to 1989, and he performed the role of Edmund Blackadder.
Meanwhile, he also started trying his luck in the film industry and made his debut in the film Never Say Never Again. In this movie, he played a supporting character and again succeeded. He played the lead role in another movie released in the same year, titled Dead On Time. One year, two hit movies—what a great success it was.
In 1990, here comes the legendary show Mr. Bean. This show is a massive success and is the favorite of people regardless of gender, age, region, language, or even country. This speechless, dialogue-less show won billions of hearts, not millions, across the world.
Rowan had been planning this character since his college days. In 1975, he first played the character of the speechless comic who tries to make other people laugh, and his fellows loved the idea and appreciated him well. Many producers thought it would fail due to a lack of dialogue. During that time, he participated in the International Comedy Festival Just For Sirix, held in Canada. Many notable people worldwide also came to the festival. Here, Rowan played the character of Mr. Bean and gathered a huge response and cheers from the audience. This strengthened Rowan’s confidence in his character.
Through his Mr. Bean character, he gained recognition worldwide. His words about this character were:
Mr. Bean is essentially a child trapped in the body of a man. All cultures identify with children in a similar way, so he has this bizarre global outreach. And 10-year-old boys from different cultures have more in common than 30-year-olds. As we grow up, we acquire this sensibility that divides us.
Mr. Bean
His journey of success became unstoppable and unbeatable. He began writing, acting, and producing the shows. Rowan has an extensive list of his work as a writer, but we will share some of his notable work here. Please have a look:
| Canned Laughter | 1979 |
| Not The Nine O’Clock News | 1979-1980 |
| Dead On Time | 1983 |
| The Driven Man | 1991 |
| Mr. Bean Goes to Premier | 1991 |
| Rowan Atkinson Live | 1992 |
| Funny Business | 1992 |
| Mr. Bean | 1990-1995 |
| Bean | 1997 |
| Blackadder Back and Forth | 1999 |
| Blackadder | 1983-2003 |
| Mr. Bean: The Animated Series | 2002-2016 |
| Mr. Bean’s Holiday | 2007 |
| Handy Bean | 2018 |
| Man Vs Bee | 2022 |
He has produced 2 shows to date i.e.,
- Bean – 1997
- Mr. Bean: The Animated Series – 2002-2016
Rowan has worked as an actor in many TV shows and films. Here is a brief list of his extensive work:
| Canned Laughter | 1979 |
| The Secret Policeman’s Ball | 1979 |
| The Innes Books of Records | 1980 |
| Not The Nine O’Clock News | 1979-1982 |
| Dead on Time | 1983 |
| Never Say Never Again | 1983 |
| Blackadder ll | 1986 |
| Saturday Night | 1987 |
| Blackadder The Third | 1987 |
| Blackadder: The Cavalier Years | 1987 |
| Comic Relief | 1988 |
| Balackadder’s Christmas Carol | 1988 |
| The Tall Guy | 1989 |
| Blackadder Goes Forth | 1989 |
| The Witches | 1990 |
| Just For Laughs | 1990 |
| Police Station | 1991 |
| The Bus Stop | 1991 |
| Going Live | 1991 |
| Bernard and the Genie | 1991 |
| Mr. Bean | 1991-2015 |
| Animated StoryBook: The Lion King | 1995 |
| The Thin The Blue Line | 1995-1996 |
| Bean | 1997 |
| Ohh Nooo! Mr. Bill Presents | 1998 |
| Comic Relief- Doctor Who – The Curse of Fetal Death | 1999 |
| Blackadder Back & Forth | 1999 |
| Maybe Baby | 2000 |
| Rat Race | 2001 |
| Johnny English | 2003 |
| Blackadder | 1993-2003 |
| Keeping Mum | 2005 |
| Mr. Bean’s Holiday | 2007 |
| Johnny English Reborn | 2011 |
| Maigret | 2016-2017 |
| Mr. Bean The Animated Series | 2002-2019 |
| Handy Bean | 2018-2020 |
| Man vs Bee | 2022 |
Rowan is also famous for his voice as the cartoon character Zazu in The Lion King, which was released in 1995 and gained much recognition.
Moreover, Rowan has been featured 14 times for magazine cover photos, given 4 interviews with different channels, and written 7 articles.
Awards and Nominations
Rowan is a worldly recognized face and one of the most talented and loved actors and has won many awards and received many nominations for his exceptional work. He has won 12 awards and 18 nominations—what a huge number!
He was declared as Winner in the following awards:
| BAFTA TV Awards, Best Light Entertainment Performance | Blackadder Goes Forth, 1990 |
| CableAce, Writing an Entertainment Special | Rowan Atkinson Live, 1993 |
| Aftonbladet TV Prize, Best Foreign TV Personality-Male | 1994 |
| Aftonbladet TV Prize, Best Foreign TV Personality-Male | 1996 |
| Aftonbladet TV Prize, Best Foreign TV Personality-Male | 1998 |
| Telvis Awards, Foreigner Male TV Performer | 2002 |
| EMMA, Humanitarian Award | Mr. Bean Funeral, 2015 |
| EMMA, Best Film Actor | Maigret Sets a Trap – Maigret’s Dead Man, 2016 |
| EMMA, Best Film Actor | Maigret: Night at the Crossroads – Maigret in Montmartre, 2017 |
| YouTube Creator Awards, Diamond Creator Award | 2018 |
| EMMA, Lifetime Achievement Award | 2020 |
Here is a list of the award shows for which he was nominated but didn’t win:
- BAFTA TV Awards
- National Film Awards, UK
- Irina Palm d’Or
- AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
- Phoenics Film Critics Society Awards
- European Film Awards
- National Television Awards, UK
- CableAce Awards
- American Comedy Awards, USA
Marital Status
Rowan got married in 1990 to Sunetra Sastry. Both met at the BBC, where Sunetra was working as a makeup artist. They met in 1980 and became friends, and after 10 years of friendship, they got married in 1990.
The couple, who are very cute, have two children: a daughter and a son. Benjamin Atkinson, the son, was born in 1993, followed by Lily Atkinson, the daughter, in 1995. They remained close until their separation in 2014 and then the couple got divorced in 2015, right after a year of separation.
Girlfriend
In 2015, Rowan met another comedian, Louise Ford. They were acting in a comedy play where they fell for each other. At the time of their affair, Rowan was 58 years old, and Ford was 32. Rowan got separated from his wife in 2014 and then divorced in 2015 just for her girlfriend, Ford.
Ford also broke up with James Acaster, who was also a comedian at the time. After breaking up, she made her relationship with Rowan, and the couple had a child in 2017.
Net worth
Mr. Bean has never disclosed his net worth on any platform, yet many sources have estimated his net worth. According to some reports, his net worth is around 130 million dollars. This information is a rough estimation; accurate information will be updated when Rowan discloses it.
Source of income
Rowan’s sources of income from the start of his career are listed below:
- Acting
- Screenwriting
- Radio
- Films
- Theatre
- TV
- Business
Favorites
There is very little information available related to his favorite things to do. However, the things that he has shared are as follows:
| Favorite Color | Black |
| Favorite Destination | Goa London |
| Favorite Food | Update Soon |
| Favorite Movies | Update Soon |
| Favorite Actor | Update Soon |
| Favorite Actress | Update Soon |
| Favorite Movies | Update Soon |
| Favorite Shows | Update Soon |
Controversies
Being famous is not easy. A celebrity has to fight for his or her career and has to face a lot of troubles and controversies. Rowan has also faced some controversies, but his struggles and success overcame all of them. Nothing proved to be strong before his success.
Interesting Facts
Here are some interesting facts about Rowan:
- Rowan was suffering from Stammar for a long time. It is a medical condition in which victims have some difficulties while talking and pronouncing some words.
- He is a big lover of luxurious and sports cars and owns many of them.
- Rowan has participated in many car racing events.
- Atkinson has earned a Heavy Goods Vehicles license.
- He has written 7 articles to date.
- Rowan has a partnership with Tiger Aspect, a production company
- The show Mr. Bean is a series in which there are few or no dialogues.
- Rowan was planning the character Mr. Bean from 1975 and the show was aired in 1990.
