Rowan Atkinson reveals why he hates Mr Bean: “Selfish, self-serving, anarchic child”
Rowan Atkinson has revealed why he dislikes his most iconic comedic character, Mr Bean.
Speaking at a London screening of his festive Netflix show, Man Vs Baby, Atkinson shared, “I dislike Mr Bean as a person, I certainly would never like to have dinner with him.”
He went on to add, “But at the same time, I like him as a character, because he is possibly a bit like I was at age 10 – that sort of childish sort of selfishness and working things out in a slightly eccentric way.”
Still, Atkinson was sure to stack up a firm boundary to keep the character out: “But at the same time, I wouldn’t want him in my house.”
Atkinson is attempting to pivot from the snivelling Mr Bean in his latest project, Man Vs Baby, which is a follow-up to the previous Man Vs Bee. The new series is fronted by his character, called Trevor Bingley.
He shared, “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.”
Looking instead at his James Bond career, Atkinson continued, “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.”
Last year, the star made similar comments about playing the strange, childish figure. He shared at the time, “I don’t much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it.”
Man Vs Baby is available on Netflix from December 11th. Watch the trailer below.
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