Rowan Atkinson

Influences? Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot character, whose tics and twitches he memorized during his time at St. Bees. The significance of this is that it helped him in his technique of using silent comedy, miming even, to get laughs. Coupled with the faces he pulled in front of a mirror to gain a rubbery-faced elasticity that rivalled Jim Carrey, we can see the beginnings of Mr. Bean. Naturally, Monty Python is an influence, as it aired when he was 15 years old. John Cleese's nasty sarcasm was later felt in each of the Blackadders, as well as his portrayal of hideous comedy star Ron Anderson in his first starring movie, The Tall Guy, opposite Jeff Goldblum.

There are a lot of comparisons between him and Cleese, come to think of it. Each of them had many years behind them, cutting their teeth on TV series, working with other performers, never being in something for too long, before making it big.

In terms of his TV series, there's quite a lot devoted to each of them: Not The Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and the Thin Blue Line. Brief plots are given of each episode, as well as major performers who appear as guest stars, such as Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall (The Young Ones), and Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter movies). It is with the third series of Black Adder (my personal favourite) that he won BAFTAs (the British equivalent of the Emmys and Oscars).

Mr. Bean, despite being his breakthrough series, was not only his fulfillment to create a comedy that could be more universal instead of being directed strictly at British tastes, was in a way the culmination of sketches he did on stage in the late 1970's, so it was basically old material (e.g. face shaving routine) refined. The movie was a success here, but because it was so Hollywoodized, was panned quite a bit in Britain.

Atkinson though comes through as a genius who despite striving to be a perfectionist, realizes that perfectionism unhealthily reduces someone to a bundle of ragged nerves. More an introvert, he is two different people, a comic onstage, a very private person offstage.

At this point, the Bean movie seems to be the pinnacle of his American success, but has the backlash happened? Sure, he came out the painfully jejune Rat Race, but Johnny English may be his saving grace, as Hollywood seems at a loss how to use him optimally. Then again, he didn't quite break into movies, as the book points out. Most of his movie roles have been minor (Never Say Never Again, Hot Shots Part Deux, Four Weddings And A Funeral). Yet through this book and from the time I noticed him in Not The Nine O'Clock News, the thing I've learned is never to anticipate what Rowan Atkinson will do next. Overall, a well-done book that casts Atkinson in a positive light and recommended for those who want to find out more on Britain's most talented comic since John Cleese.


Sad Yawnsville   May 21, 2003
3 out of 7 found this review helpful

It's a sad sad tale of an ugly duckling. Once upon a time there was this boy whom everyone called alien for his looks were quite odd if not freakish. Even own parents of his shipped him off to a distant boy boarding school as not to see his grotesque visage.

The book merrily skips the boarding school years -- thank god. Imagine the torture and suffering poor Rowan must have endured in a British school.

No wonder, the man is quite quiet and reserved. That was his survival technique. The only way poor Rowan could touch life was through playing out characters on stage. His inclination, like a snubbed wicked cripple who hates the world, was to play the bad guys and sort of get back at the world.

But the story, as you know, has a happyend. Rowan makes it big. Real big. He turns his oddity into a golden mine. Where are those pretty boys that once picked on Rowan now? Getting up at 5 lining up to catch the bus to ferry them to and fro their dead-end jobs as nobodies, carrying a mortgage on a semi-detached dwelling with a hefty dose of stress to boot.

Well done, Rowan. Way to get back at all of them. And in fact, in Blackadder II or III (The one where you play the court guy doing a great deal of hanging around with the giddy queen) you look rather dashing.

Yes, you may interject, but Atkinson is synonymous with fun... he's a hoot... he's great... that all is well but not in this case. Not in the pages of this dull paperback. Not in its confines. The retracing of steps of this comic giant leads into a boring staleness of a rather common and not so happy plight.

I'm giving it 2 stars only because I like Rowan. The book itself deserves none, really.

I'm Rick Friedman. This has been the Awful Truth, bringing you reality like no other. Take care.


Eh   August 31, 2001
MK Writer (United States)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Something of a lesson in not judging a book by its cover (or the blurb on the back). After purchasing this book, I was disappointed to learn in the opening acknowledgements that this was an unauthorized biography and that not even one of Atkinson's friends or close business associates agreed to be interviewed by Bruce Dressau, which in my mind, somewhat discredits the biography. On the other hand, if you're an American who didn't stumble upon Blackadder until it began airing on public television in the 90's (the way I did), this book isn't a bad read. It closely follows his career from his Oxford days up through The Thin Blue Line, which was interesting, especially when you see that seeds of certain characters (particularly Mr. Bean) took root early on in his career. Other than that, though, don't expect to gain any insight as to Rowan Atkinson the man, because there isn't any. The author tries to draw parallels between things like Atkinson's love of cars and his performing (if I had the book by my side now I'd subject you to the metaphor)but they just don't fly. I also realized, after reading the book, that the numerous articles that he quotes from (since no one was willing to talk to him) are mostly available on the internet. So while I'm willing to say that I learned something about British comedy and Rowan Atkinson, in the end I was still disappointed.


Detailed about the work, superficial about the man   April 18, 2001
Andrew McCaffrey (Satellite of Love, Maryland)
14 out of 17 found this review helpful

This biography is an excellent account of the various television shows, films and stage productions that Rowan Atkinson has performed in during the course of his career. Starting with some plays that he did as a school-boy, it continues right up to the year 2000 with his Comic Relief CURSE OF THE FATAL DEATH sketches and the BLACKADDER BACK AND FORTH one-off special. Unfortunately, while the book is bursting at the seams with information and facts about his professional life, we never really learn much about Mr. Atkinson himself. This is perhaps hardly surprising, after all it's fairly well-known that he hates to give interviews and will often times appear on a chat show in his Mr. Bean character in order to promote the series without having to give anything of himself away. Throughout the book one only catches a glimpse of the man behind that face. We learn rather superficial details, such as his love for automobiles and his shyness in person, but we never really get to see how much of an impact his public and private lives have on each other.

There has obviously been a lot of research that has gone into this book. To compensate for the lack of material from the mouth of Rowan Atkinson himself, the author instead quotes from a variety of his friends, but the bulk of the information comes from his co-workers. It's very interesting to see how Atkinson kept with the same people he had worked with since his graduate school days. The same names keep cropping up over and over and it becomes clear that Atkinson knows to stick with a winning team. One also learns the origin of some of the most famous Mr. Bean sketches, many of which date back to his stage persona from the late 1970s. I was fascinated to see the evolution of the Bean character. While many of his live shows incorporated a silent character, it wasn't until the 90s that he brought most of his most famous material to television.

This book is recommended for fans of Rowan Atkinson's work. Do not expect an in-depth look at his personal life, because until Atkinson starts giving more interviews or writes his autobiography, there simply won't be anything on the market resembling one. However, as far as detailing his many accomplishments in the field of comedy, you won't get any better than this book.