Rowan Atkinson tribute

A very Happy Birthday to the brilliant Rowan Atkinson who turns 60 today. What with Mr Bean, Johnny English and Blackadder – Rowan Atkinson has been making us laugh for years!

The multi-talented actor, comedian and screenwriter is most famous for his sitcoms Mr Bean and Blackadder. The Observer listed him in their 50 Funniest Actors in British Comedy and also amongst the Top 50 Comedians of all time.

Atkinson first appeared in the spotlight in the Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1976 and in 1978 he started a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 called the Atkinson People (written by Atkinson, Richard Curtis and produced by Griff Rhys-Jones). However, it was his appearance on Not the Nine O’Clock News from 1979 – 1982 that really introduced him to the world.

Atkinson is known and loved for speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery, for making the most incredible faces and expressions and for making hilarious fun of himself. News is just out today (January 6) that Atkinson will don tights for the first time since Blackadder to feature in the upcoming sixth series of the BBC’s historical comedy children’s show, Horrible Histories, playing Henry VII.

We don’t know much about his personal life, he has managed quite successfully to keep that private – but we do know that he loves cars, and with an estimated fortune of approximately £85 million, he is able to indulge his passion. He owns an Mclaren F1, Renalut 5 GT Turbo, Austin Metro, Audi A8 and a Honda Civic Hybrid, to name just a few. He is obsessed with cars but hates Porsche: “I have a problem with Porsches. They’re wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people – and I wish them no ill – are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don’t go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn’t handle owning one.”

In celebration of Atkinson’s birthday we have gathered together some of our favourite funny moments from the last 30 years. To watch these videos in a playlist, scroll to the bottom of the post.

Tap a video title to watch it using Creation 5.