ROWAN ATKINSON

Date of Birth
6 January 1955, Consett, County Durham, England, UK

Birth Name
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson

Nickname
Row

Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on the 6th January, 1955, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, to Ella May and Eric Atkinson. His father owned a farm where he grew up with his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney. He attended Newcastle University and Oxford University where he earned degrees in electrical engineering. During that time, he met screenwriter Richard Curtis, with whom he wrote and performed comedy revues.

Later, he co-wrote and appeared in "Not the Nine O'Clock News" (1979), which was a huge success and spawned several best-selling books. It won an International Emmy Award and the British Academy Award for "Best Light Entertainment Programme of 1980." He won the "British Academy Award" and was named "BBC Personality of the Year" for his performing on "Not the Nine O'Clock News" (1979).

Atkinson also appeared in several movies, including Dead on Time (1983), Pleasure at Her Majesty's (1976) (TV) (aka "Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe"), Never Say Never Again (1983), and The Tall Guy (1989). He played "Mr. Bean" in the TV series, "Mr. Bean" (1990) but, apart from that and "Not the Nine O'Clock News" (1979), he also appeared in several other series like "The Black Adder" (1982) and "Funny Business" (1992), etc.

Atkinson enjoys nothing better than fast cars. He has been married to Sunetra Sastry since 1990, and they have two children, named Benjamin and Lily.

Spouse
Sunetra Sastry (5 February 1990 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark
Wide range of humorous expressions

His characters: Mr. Bean and Blackadder


Trivia
Father of a son, Benjamin Alexander Sebastian Atkinson (born 1993) and a daughter, Lily Grace Atkinson (aka Lily Atkinson) (born 1995), with his wife Sunetra Sastry.

Rides go-karts round his tennis courts and, according to Stephen Fry (his best man), "hasn't got an ounce of showbiz in him".

Has an HGV license (Heavy Goods Vehicle - the old legal term in the United Kingdom for goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight).

Owns various fast cars (Aston Martin Vantages, etc.).

Writes articles for CAR (a British car magazine).

Education: Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK (electrical engineering); Oxford University, Oxford, UK (electrical engineering)

Races (and also crashes) his Aston Martins in the Aston Martins Owners club series.

His wife, Sunetra Sastry, is a make-up artist.

Attended Cathedral Chorister School, Durham with Tony Blair.

He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1982 for the 1981 season.

Once crashed his MacLaren F1, a supercar valued at more than $1,000,000, into the back of a stationary Mini Metro, valued at around $600. The damage was not severe.

He was one of the guests at Prince Charles' and Camilla Parker-Bowles' wedding.

Has publicly opposed the British Labour government's plans to introduce new legislation on incitement to religious hatred, arguing that it would undermine free speech and thought (even citing the possible development of mind-reading technology), and that such measures would make political satire - which he considers seminal in a democracy - unworkable.

Along with Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny, he is one of only three actors to appear in all four "Blackadder" series: "The Black Adder" (1982), "Black-Adder II" (1986), "Black Adder the Third" (1987) and "Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989).

He had to pull out of his role in a West End production of Oliver in April 2009 due to hernia surgery.

Owns a Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, which he used in the film Johnny English (2003).

He is the only actor to appear in every episode of Blackadder, Tony Robinson did not appear in the pilot.

On August 4, 2011 he was admitted to Peterborough City Hospital after crashing his McLaren Formula1 sports car. He suffered a light injury on his shoulder.

Has suffered with a stammer for many years, hence does not like giving interviews.

Attended Kate Middleton and Prince William Windsor's wedding.


Personal Quotes
People think because I can make them laugh on the stage, I'll be able to make them laugh in person. That isn't the case at all. I am essentially a rather quiet, dull person who just happens to be a performer.

[commenting in 2004 on Britain's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill] To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom. The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas - even if they are sincerely held beliefs - is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. A law which attempts to say you can criticize and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed.

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.

I remember looking up Johnny English (2003) in a film guide and it said 'intermittently hilarious' - quite a good description of five good jokes and a lot of longueurs. I find it frustrating that, apart from Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), I have yet to be involved in a film of which I am totally proud.

The casual ease which some people move from finding something offensive to wishing to declare it criminal - and are then able to find factions within government to aid their ambitions - is truly depressing.

[on being overwhelmed by fans at a Toronto shopping mall] It's a bit disconcerting being treated like Madonna.

[preparing to perform onstage the title role in Simon Gray's 'Quartermaine's Terms'] It's well known that tragedy and comedy are close bedfellows. It's rare, though, that you see them placed in such intimacy. Like most tragic figures, 'Quartermaine' is unaware of his own tragedy. What I love about him is his optimism. You don't tend to feel much sympathy for pessimistic people, but those who retain their optimism, despite the sadness of their lives, are interesting, engaging and sympathetic.