Funnyman Rowan Atkinson, best known for playing the character of Mr. Bean, has entertained audiences for many years for playing the hapless TV character. So much so that the Mr. Bean character has spawned two films – “Bean” in 1997 and “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” in 2007, in addition to the “Johnny English” movies he starred in and several others.
Atkinson officially retired the Mr. Bean character in 2012, although audiences occasionally see the beloved character making cameos on TV, including a cameo in a Snickers commercial and in a sketch for “Red Nose Day.”
Fans of “Mr.
Bean” probably haven’t heard much about the 62-year-old comedian. With that being said, here are the things that kept Atkinson busy for the past several years as first shared by Looper.
Mr. Bean’s political side
Atkinson may have been a fumbling funnyman on TV, but he’s quite the opposite in real life. He took advantage of his character’s popularity by making his presence felt in the political arena of the United Kingdom.
In 2012, Atkinson was a proponent to revoke an old legislation where a person can be arrested for making insulting remarks. He has always been a supporter on the topic of free speech. Ironically, his most famous character communicates mostly by grunts and gestures and barely spoke at all.
Rowan Atkinson tries to distance himself from Mr. Bean
According to a report by The Telegraph, one of the reasons Atkinson retired the Mr. Bean character is because he was afraid of being typecast which would make it difficult for him to get other roles. Which is why in 2016, Atkinson portrayed a totally different persona in the TV movie, “Maigret,” based on the novels by Georges Simenon titled “Maigret Sets a Trap.”
Atkinson played the titular character, Jules Maigret, as he investigated and tracked down a serial killer set in the 1950s.
Audiences may need to get used to the idea that this TV movie is as serious as Atkinson can get. However, Atkinson managed to pull off the character and will play Maigret at least two more times, according to Looper.
Mr. Bean is also a gearhead
Despite having an old beat-up car in the TV show, Atkinson is actually passionate about cars.
Looper reported that in 2011, Atkinson appeared on BBC’s “Top Gear” where he participated in a segment called “Star in a reasonably priced car.”
Mr. Bean’s choice of vehicle was the Kia Cee’d and accomplished the second-best time ever in the show when he took the car on the race track.
