Your childhood has been fragmentary if you haven't seen this man with his teddy and his flashy green car!
"Mr. Bean" as we recognize him today is not disparate from the actual personality that has brought life to this character.
Rowan Atkinson's adventurous trek to fame is not a mainstream journey of strife and competition, but a quest for self-improvement and overcoming his impediments.
Rowan Atkinson's ChildhoodBorn in a middle-class household in Durham, England & supported by his agriculturist father. Atkinson, who stuttered by birth, for some reason turned out to be a "prodigy".
His educational skills and assiduous personality got him straight into Oxford University, where he was able to substantiate his innate desire of making people laugh with his acting.
Rowan Atkinson's initial careerDespite his disability of stammering he dauntlessly decided to pursue his love for the stage as a full-time career!
Atkinson knew that his body and facial looks did not match the mold set by societal norms for a “hero" and decided not to focus on the negative suggestions people had for him.
Shouldn't all of us, do the same to excel in life?He initially signed up for a comedy group at the university, incognizant of the rejections that were going to come his way! And boy there was a load of them!
Nowhere was he given a chance to present himself or even act in minor roles.
Let's be realistic for once, an actor with a speech disability and no looks, they might even make him a tree prop in a play!
Who knew that this man was on his way to becoming a world-famous celebrity, actor-comedian, and shall possess a net worth of 135 million!
"I feel as though the camera is almost a kind of voyeur in Mr. Bean's life, and you just watch this bizarre man going about his life in the way that he wants to." ~ Rowan Atkinson.
Atkinson realized that his face was his greatest asset. He began honing his facial expressions, to a level that he must not need words to convey dialogues.
His hard work landed him into TV series, ‘Not the Nine O’clock News’ and ‘Blackadder'.
Atkinson experienced an epiphany that when he got engrossed in a particular character his stammering would pass into oblivion and he could be fluent in any role he wished to deliver!
In an interview he once revealed, "I found that whenever I played a character other than myself, the stammering disappeared"
In 1990, he wrote for, as well as starred in, 'Mr. Bean’, which was his final break to become an international sensation.
In his words, “Mr. Bean is essentially a child trapped in the body of a man. All cultures identify with children similarly, so he has this bizarre global outreach.” Mr. Bean made him the youngest performer to star in a 'one-man show in West End.
The short episodes along with the animated series were admired by people of all age groups. Atkinson had basically inaugurated an era of light-hearted TV shows and had opened a new market and liking for the genre.
According to him, the TV sequel was the biggest commercial success of his lifetime!
Rowan Atkinson's debut on the big screenAtkinson, on the pace he chose to move forward with, was bound to bless him with success in the progressive bigger screen. With the goodwill that he created through his grace and incomparable talent, he later bagged roles in movies like:
- Jhonny English
- Scooby-doo
- Love Actually
- Mr. Bean's Holiday
- Johnny English reborn
- Jhonny English Strikes Again
Gaining widespread appreciation and recognition for his unique and relatable way of presentation especially for Mr. Bean’s movie sequel;
According to the Directors, they had a gala time switching from TV to the big screen, elaborating Mr. Bean's character as the movie needed more explanation on his role and emotionality.
Rowan Atkinson, a luminary personalityJust like the character of Mr. Bean, who never got jittery with what the world thought, Atkinson likewise did not fear being the distinctive personality he was!
From a bullied young boy, tagged to be strange and 'alien like' to a Bankable artist;
Rowan Atkinson has made ambitions reach new levels!
Atkinson's life teaches us that there is no crying over spilled milk!
You have to work the best out of what is available to you. Being born perfect may not be a choice,
But being a perfectionist can definitely be an attribute to acquire. Rowan Atkinson an artist who even overcame his birth defects through hard work.
