On January 6th, Rowan Atkinson celebrates his 70th birthday, a milestone for a man who has made history in comedy. From his rise to fame in the 80s to his iconic characters like Mr. Bean and Johnny English.
Throughout time, Atkinson has proven to be one of the greatest comedians of all time. But, how did this British actor manage to turn his talent into a career that has entertained generations and continues to make a mark on popular culture?
The early years and their formation
Born in Consett, County Durham, England, in 1955, Rowan Atkinson did not seem destined to become a comedy icon. His childhood was marked by a traditional education in an Anglican family. He was the youngest of four children and showed remarkable intelligence from a young age. He studied at schools such as Durham Choristers School and St. Bees School before attending Newcastle University, where he graduated in Electrical Engineering. Later, he completed a master's degree at Queen's College, Oxford, the same institution where his father had been a student.
Although his academic background was in engineering, Atkinson soon became interested in the world of entertainment. In Oxford, he began to stand out on stage with comedic performances that quickly caught the attention of producers.
Television and the takeoff of your career
The great opportunity came in the late 70s with the program Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979-1982), a comedy series in which Atkinson stood out for his physical humor and peculiar style. It was this program that catapulted him to fame and earned him several awards, including the British Academy Television Award in 1981. During this period, Atkinson also participated in The Secret Policeman's Ball, a series of sketches that solidified him as one of the most innovative figures in British comedy.
His career took an even greater turn when, in 1983, he started working with the screenwriter Richard Curtis on the creation of Blackadder, a historical comedy series that showed him in different incarnations throughout the ages. The series, which lasted until 1989, became one of the most beloved in British television and allowed Atkinson to explore much more complex characters.
The global phenomenon of Mr. Bean
However, the real global phenomenon came in 1990, when Mr. Bean debuted on the small screen. The series was one of the most revolutionary of its time. Unlike other comedians of the era, Atkinson created a character who, despite being almost mute, spoke through his body language and exaggerated gestures, making the whole world laugh with him. Mr. Bean quickly became an icon of universal comedy, and the series was exported to more than 200 countries, becoming a success of global proportions.
Atkinson's charisma and his ability to convey humor without hardly using words made Mr. Bean become one of the most beloved characters in television history. Additionally, spin-off movies like Bean (1997) kept the figure of the clumsy yet endearing Bean alive for years.