Rowan Sebastian Atkinson CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He first gained success on the sketch comedy show Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979โ1982), before going on to play the title roles in the sitcoms Blackadder (1983โ1989) and Mr. Bean (1990โ1995), and in the film series Johnny English (2003โpresent).
He reprised the Mr. Bean character in the films Bean (1997) and Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), and voices the character in Mr. Bean: The Animated Series (2002โpresent). Atkinson's other film appearances include the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), The Witches (1990), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), Love Actually (2003), and Wonka (2023), as well as voicing the character Zazu in the Disney animated film The Lion King (1994). He also starred as Inspector Raymond Fowler in the BBC sitcom The Thin Blue Line (1995โ1996), French police commissioner Jules Maigret in ITV's Maigret (2016โ2017), and Trevor Bingley in the Netflix sitcoms Man vs. Bee (2022) and Man vs. Baby (2025). His work in theatre includes the role of Fagin in the 2009 West End revival of the musical Oliver!. Throughout his career, he has frequently collaborated with screenwriter Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, both of whom he met at the Oxford University Dramatic Society during the 1970s.
