Rowan Atkinson

Current Role

Rowan Aktinson is set to star in the new West End production of 'Oliver!' He will play Fagin, with the two characters of Nancy and Oliver being decided in the BBC competition programme 'I'd Do Anything'. The show will be land in the West End theatre with previews in early December and shown fully from 14th January 2009.

Early Life

Rowan was educated at Durham Choristers School, the same school where Tony Blair was educated. He went on to study electrical engineering at Newcastle University before continuing his education at The Queen's College, Oxford. It was at Oxford that Rowan delved into the world of acting and performance art, appearing in early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society. It was as part of this society, where he met people such as the writer Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to work with throughout his career.

Career Highlights

Rowan Atkinson's career highlights would have to be 'Not the Nine O'clock News', this is where he started his TV entertainment career. He also met his wife on one of the series.

Another career highlight for Rowan is the 'Blackadder' series which were set in different historical times. There were four Blackadder series going through various times of historical periods.

As well as starring in these comedy shows, he also starred in 'Mr Bean'. Which first started out as a small 30-minutes TV programme but then went on to be a full length 'Mr Bean' film was made in 1997. There was then another one made 10-years later entitled as 'Mr Beans Holiday'

Rowan Atkinson also starred in a James bond movie, 'Never Say Never Again' this was the first movie he starred in before starting to get into filming he went onto starring in successful comedies such as, 'Rat Race', 'Scooby-Doo' and 'Love Actually'.

Interesting Facts

• His older brother Rodney Atkinson is known for his involvement in politics and narrowly missed out in the 'UK Independence Party' leadership election in 2000.

• Rowan Atkinson has around £100million worth of cars and crashed two of his most expensive ones, his Mclaren F1 and his Bugatti Veyron.

Awards