Mr. Bean
A child in a grown man's body, solving everyday problems.
Mr. Bean is a British sitcom character created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The series consists of 15 episodes that originally aired on ITV from 1 January 1990 to 31 October 1995. The character is a childish buffoon who solves everyday problems with unusual schemes, relying on physical comedy and very little dialogue, which has allowed the series to be sold in 245 territories worldwide.
- Field
- Television comedy
- Nationality
- British
- Known for
- Physical comedy, minimal dialogue, titular role in Mr. Bean sitcom
Lore & Background
The character of Mr. Bean was developed while Rowan Atkinson was at Oxford and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 1980s. A sketch featuring Bean was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 1980s. One of Bean's earliest appearances occurred at the 'Just for Laughs' comedy festival in Montreal in 1987, where Atkinson insisted on performing on the French-speaking bill to test the character's physical comedy on an international stage. The character's name was not decided until after the first episode; other vegetable-influenced names such as 'Mr. Cauliflower' were explored. Atkinson cited Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot and Peter Sellers' fumbling fool characters as influences.
Reader's Guide
Mr. Bean's significance lies in its global appeal, achieved through reliance on physical comedy and minimal dialogue, making it accessible to audiences with little or no English. The series was met with widespread acclaim during its original five-year run, attracting large television audiences—18.74 million viewers for the episode 'The Trouble with Mr. Bean'—and receiving international awards including the Rose d'Or. It has inspired an animated spin-off, two theatrical feature-length films, and Atkinson reprised the role for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. The character's enduring legacy is reflected in its sale to 245 territories and continued presence in popular culture through sketches for Comic Relief and television commercials. In 2012, Atkinson stated intentions to retire the character, but changed his mind in 2016, saying he would never retire playing Mr. Bean.
Did You Know?
- The character was developed while Rowan Atkinson was at Oxford and the Edinburgh Fringe, not specifically while studying for his MSc.
- The series uses very little intelligible dialogue, making it accessible to people who know little or no English.
- Mr. Bean's vehicle is a citron-green 1976 British Leyland Mini 1000.
- The opening sequence of Mr. Bean falling from the sky in a beam of light is used for the series as a whole, not specifically for episode two.
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