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Rowan Atkinson Won't Appear As Mr Bean Again As He 'Doesn't Enjoy Playing Him'

Rowan Atkinson Won't Appear As Mr Bean Again As He 'Doesn't Enjoy Playing Him'

He said he finds it 'exhausting'

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

Rowan Atkinson has said that he won't be playing his famous character Mr Bean in person again, saying he doesn't enjoy it anymore.

The 65-year-old actor, writer and comedian, first played Mr Bean - a clown-like character - in 1990, when he had his own show, but he has appeared less and less in recent years.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Atkinson said: "It's easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually. 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."

PA

The ITV sitcom, co-written with Richard Curtis, was later turned into an animated series for children and is in development as an animated film. He said that he finds it easier to voice the character than act - possibly because he doesn't really speak much.

In fact, Atkinson said the only one of his characters that he would like to bring back would be Blackadder, but he didn't seem confident it would happen, saying it wouldn't be 'impossible'.

He told the news outlet: "That's about as optimistic as I can be and I'd rather not speculate on when it could be set. But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the 80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn't be easy."

He also weighed in on the issue of 'cancel culture'.

In the same interview, he said: "The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you're with us or against us. And if you're against us, you deserve to be 'cancelled'.

PA

"It's important that we're exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn.

"So it is scary for anyone who's a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future."

He's currently working with Netflix on a new series called Man vs Bee.

The 10 part show will consist of a series of shorts, based on a man who finds himself going head to head in a war with a bee while he's housesitting a luxurious mansion. It's made by Atkinson's production company HouseSitter Productions.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: TV and Film, UK Entertainment