After decades of portraying Mr Bean, Rowan Atkinson admits he doesn’t enjoy playng the character any more and is itching for it all to end.
British comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson has been portraying his iconic character “Mr Bean” for the better part of three decades now. While the slapstick antics of Mr Bean has brought him acclaim and popularity around the world, it seems like Atkinson is done with the character and is gleefully awaiting the day he can stop being Bean.
Chatting to Radio Times (via Variety), Atkinson was asked about his feelings on the whole Mr Bean phenomenon that started as a simple 90s TV show before quickly growing into a global franchise and the comic legend says he doesn’t enjoy playing the character at all due to the “weight of responsibility.”
“I don’t much enjoy playing him,” says Atkinson about Mr Bean. “The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it.”
I mean, fair enough I guess. Three decades is a long time and spending most of those years playing a single character who is beloved by people around the world must undoubtedly be draining.
Having said that though, Atkinson did say that while he’s done physically portraying Mr Bean, he’s perfectly fine with doing animated and voiceover projects involving that character, which is quite convenient for the comedian since Mr Bean’s voice is practically nonexistent.
“Having made an animated TV series, we’re now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for ‘Mr. Bean’ — it’s easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually,” says Atkinson.
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But while Mr Bean is done and dusted (physically anyway) as far as he’s concerned, Atkinson did sound keen on revisiting another iconic character of his: Blackadder.
The Blackadder character was the subject of a show that lasted four seasons and a Christmas special which was broadcast between 1982 and 1989. After putting the character on ice for so many years – mostly due to Mr Bean and other projects – Atkinson isn’t ruling out more Blackadder antics at some point but don’t hold your breath for it.
“I don’t actually like the process of making anything — with the possible exception of Blackadder, because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine,” Atkinson said.
“But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the ’80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn’t be easy.”
Check out Rowan Atkinson portraying Mr Bean:
