Rowan Atkinson

Man Vs Baby has just been released on Netflix with subscribers more curious than ever to find out about Rowan Atkinson’s life.

Rowan Atkinson is a British treasure, so it’s no surprise devotees are keen to learn everything about the 70-year-old performer.

Man Vs Baby landed on Thursday, December 11, on Netflix, a four-episode comedy following Trevor Bingley (portrayed by Rowan Atkinson) as he unexpectedly becomes guardian to an abandoned infant in London.

The sitcom may have only just arrived on the platform but has already soared to Netflix’s top spot, demonstrating that audiences remain captivated by the Mr Bean icon.

As fans carry on devouring Man Vs Baby this weekend, here’s everything worth knowing about the legendary Rowan Atkinson.

Unexpected career

Whilst everyone recognises Atkinson primarily for his comedic work, breaking into acting wasn’t his original plan.

He first pursued electrical engineering at Newcastle University and embarked on a PhD at Oxford University when he uncovered his love for performing.

During his Oxford years, he encountered the writer of Four Weddings And A Funeral, in which Atkinson made a brief appearance, and also co-penned the beloved Blackadder.

Stutter

The Man Vs Baby performer has lived with a speech impediment throughout much of his life but has apparently discovered it troubles him less whilst he’s on stage.

Atkinson generally avoids the limelight regardless, but he also steers clear of numerous interviews due to his stammer.

He told Time magazine: “It comes and goes. It depends on my nerves, but it can be a problem.

“I find that when I play a character other than myself, the stammering disappears. That may have been some of my inspiration for pursuing the career that I did.”

Mr Bean

Beyond his memorable role in the Blackadder series, Atkinson’s early work centred on the wordlessly chaotic persona of Mr Bean.

It’s thought that Mr Bean draws from nine year old Atkinson’s experiences after being bullied at school by youngsters who thought he resembled an alien, earning him cruel nicknames such as Doople and Greenman.

Speaking to The Independent, he said: “There’s a lot of Mr Bean in me. He’s socially inept, selfish and has no manners – yet he can be sweet, innocent and well-meaning.”

Personal life

Atkinson was married to makeup artist Sunetra Sastry who he first met in the 1980s during filming of Blackadder’s second season.

Sastry worked as makeup artist for his co-star Stephen Fry, but it wasn’t long before Atkinson formed a connection with her, and they married in 1990.

The couple remained together for 24 years and welcomed children Benjamin and Lily before divorcing in November 2015.

During the divorce proceedings, the pair were midway through building an £11 million property in Oxfordshire.

The star met his current girlfriend Louise Ford in 2013 – who was then dating comedian James Acaster – whilst working on the West End production Quartermaine’s Terms.

Ford, who is roughly 30 years younger, has appeared in Horrible Histories, The Windsors and Crashing. The couple, who became parents to their darling daughter Isla in December 2017, have chosen to keep her away from the public gaze.

Man Vs Baby can be streamed on Netflix.

The actor known for playing Mr Bean and Blackadder has a gentler role this Christmas on Netflix

Iconic comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson says he is finally playing a character he doesn’t hate. Atkinson, 70, plays the role of Trevor Bingley for the second time in new Christmas Netflix series Man vs Baby.

Hapless Bingley, is supposed to have left the stressful world of housesitting for the quieter life of a school caretaker. But he ends up with a penthouse to look after for Christmas and a baby dubbed ‘Baby Jesus’ to burp after a series of mix ups.

Atkinson said: “Trevor Bingley, in his basic form, is arguably one of the nicest people I’ve ever played. Because I think most people I’ve played are sort of deeply unpleasant, really, you know, Mr. Bean is a selfish, self serving, anarchic child. Blackadder, is a sort of sarcastic and sardonic and basically negative force, I think.

“Even Johnny English is a sort of vain, sort of charmless. I think actually, Trevor has turned out to be one of my more pleasant, amenable creations. I quite like playing the nice guy which I haven’t done very often.”

Speaking at the series premiere in London, Atkinson went on to say he wouldn’t even have dinner with Mr Bean or Blackadder who would “have a sarcastic remark for everything”. Atkinson also revealed ‘Baby Jesus’, the other star of the series, is actually played by four babies, two twins for the close ups and two ‘stunt babies’ for other crawling scenes as they can only ‘work’ for 45 minutes at a time.

He joked: “There’s not much chat between takes with the co-star. But you go with the flow.”

“They are great looking, aren’t they?” He added. “I say ‘they’ because when you’re trying to use babies in film, you go for twins, and our twins were great. But, yes, you’re right – the babies are scene-stealers, that’s their very nature.

“It’s that strange thing when you’re watching a baby, because you know that they’re not acting, they’re just being themselves and reacting to the situation surrounding them. As such, they’re completely unpredictable, but also completely engaging, because you know they’re giving an inherent truth that you’re not getting from an adult performer.”

Atkinson himself is a father-of-three, having had two children – Ben and Lily – with his first wife Sunetra Sastry some times ago and a third child Isla, 8, from his current relationship with second wife Louise, who he married in 2014. And he says being a real life dad helped him for the role, despite him having to play at being terrible with a tot.

“Well, experience helps! He said. “It’s a bit like when I played Maigret for ITV a few years ago, the French detective. An important aspect of Maigret was that he smokes a pipe all the time which is an incredibly unfashionable thing to do in this day and age. But it wasn’t unfashionable or uncommon in the 1950s which is when the drama was set and also when I was a student – that’s a terrible admission!

“And it’s the same thing with holding a baby. If you’ve done it in real life, you look realistic doing it on screen. I’m pretty comfortable holding a baby.”

The series launches today(THURS) and whilst there are no plans yet for a third season, as this caper follows Man vs Bee from 2022 with the same lead character, it seems like a possibility. Atkinson won’t be making the decision based on any reviews though or critical acclaim, as he only cares it viewers like it as family entertainment this Christmas.

Sounding bullish he said: “I haven’t read a review or critique of anything I’ve done since the 20th century so I don’t know what reviewers, pundits and critics think of what I do, because the only thing that interests me is how many people watch this, and would they like to watch more? That’s the litmus test, and the sign of success, to me.”

* Four part series Man vs Baby launches on Netflix on Thursday December 11.

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