Mr. Bean "Is a Selfish, Self-Serving, Anarchic Child": Rowan Atkinson

Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: mr. bean, rowan atkinson

Mr. Bean "Is a Selfish, Self-Serving, Anarchic Child": Rowan Atkinson

While discussing his new Netflix series Man vs Baby, Rowan Atkinson once again reminded the world that Mr. Bean is a pretty terrible person.

Published Fri, 12 Dec 2025 07:37:03 -0600
by Adi Tantimedh
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Rowan Atkinson is one of the best comedians in the UK, made world famous for his portrayal of Mr. Bean, the non-speaking character who wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. That is literally every episode of the sitcom that ran in the 1990s, and audiences worldwide couldn't get enough of him. Here's the thing, though: Atkinson thinks Mr Bean is a terrible, terrible person. He has been saying this for decades, and he reiterated it in a recent interview.

"I dislike Mr Bean as a person, I certainly would never like to have dinner with him," Atkinson said at a London screening of his upcoming Netflix show Man Vs Baby. "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. But at the same time, I wouldn't want him in my house," Atkinson said. Mr. Bean's childish antics and visual comedy are part of his charm, but this does not make him a "nice guy" like the well-meaning but hapless Trevor Bingley in Man vs. Baby, which is a follow-up to Man vs. Bee.

"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."

So there you have it. Mr Bean may be fun to watch, but you definitely don't want him anywhere near you.

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