Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson at the Johnny English Reborn Premiere in 2011.
Birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
Born	(1955-01-06) 6 January 1955 Consett, County Durham, England
Medium	Film, television, stand-up
Nationality	British
Years active	1979–present
Genres	Physical comedy
Influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati
Influenced	Steve Pemberton, David Walliams
Spouse	Sunetra Sastry (m. 1990–2015, divorced)
Relative(s)	Rodney Atkinson (brother)
Notable works and roles	Not the Nine O'Clock News Blackadder The Thin Blue Line Mr. Bean Johnny English
BAFTA Awards
Best Light Entertainment Performance 1981 Not the Nine O'Clock News 1990 Blackadder Goes Forth
Laurence Olivier Awards
Best Comedy Performance 1981 Rowan Atkinson in Revue

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an English comedian, actor and writer, best known for his characters of Mr. Bean and Blackadder. He has also been in films such as Scooby Doo and Johnny English. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedians ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.

Marriage and children

Rowan Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC. Sastry is the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother. The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and lived in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London. The couple separated in 2014 and divorced in 2015. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.

Television appearances

• Canned Laughter (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Peter Cook & Co (1980)
• The Innes Book of Records (1980), guest appearance
• Blackadder as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder); Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II); Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III); Ebenezer Blackadder (Blackadder's Christmas Carol); and Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)
• Saturday Live as guest host (1986)
• Mr. Bean as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)
• Rowan Atkinson Live as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)
• Bernard and the Genie as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)
• Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
• A Bit Of Fry And Laurie (1992), guest appearance
• The Thin Blue Line as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)
• The Story of Bean as himself (1997)
• Blackadder: Back and Forth as Black Adder (2000)
• Mr. Bean (animated TV series) as Mr. Bean, voice (2002)
• The Comic Relief "Red Nose Day" telecasts, including appearances in:
  • Blackadder: The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)
  • Nosenight sketches (1989)
  • 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)
  • The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief as himself (2007)
• We Are Most Amused (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday
• Blackadder Rides Again as himself (2008)
• Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News as himself (2009)

Guest appearances

• Wogan (1988, 1991)
• Children in Need (1988), guest appearance as Mr. E. Blackadder
• Noel's House Party, guest appearance as Blackadder
• Going Live, guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• This Morning (1995), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Big Breakfast
• Parkinson (2003)
• Blue Peter (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• London Tonight (2005)
• BBC Breakfast (2007)
• Richard & Judy (2007)
• The Dame Edna Treatment (2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Top Gear (2011)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball	Various roles	Solo skits, plus with Monty Python
1982	Fundamental Frolics	Himself
1982	The Secret Policeman's Other Ball	Himself & various roles
1983	Dead on Time	Bernard Fripp
	Never Say Never Again	Nigel Small-Fawcett	a spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball
1989	The Appointments of Dennis Jennings	Dr. Schooner	Short Film
	The Tall Guy	Ron Anderson
1990	The Witches	Mr. Stringer
1991	The Driven Man	Himself	TV Also Writer
1993	Hot Shots! Part Deux	Dexter Hayman
1994	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Father Gerald
	The Lion King	Zazu	Voice Only
1997	Bean	Mr. Bean	Also Writer/Executive Producer
2000	Maybe Baby	Mr. James
2001	Rat Race	Enrico Pollini
2002	Scooby-Doo	Emile Mondavarious
2003	Johnny English	Johnny English
	Love Actually	Rufus	Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting
2005	Keeping Mum	Reverend Walter Goodfellow
2007	Mr. Bean's Holiday	Mr. Bean	Also Writer & Producer
2011	Johnny English Reborn	Johnny English	Also Executive Producer