As many of his fans know, Rowan Atkinson is a 42-year old, Oxford-educated electrical engineer. Outside the U.S., he may be the world’s most well-known funnyman. His wildly popular English television show, Bean is broadcast in more than 80 countries, including PBS stations in the United States. As Bean, he barely speaks, communicating through an arsenal of facial expressions and contorted body parts. Bean is a solitary, selfish, ingenious 9 -year-old boy trapped inside a man’s body, wearing a trademark tweed jacket, shirt and tie, and driving a ridiculously small Austin Mini coupe.

At Oxford, Atkinson met classmate Richard Curtis, who later wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral, in which Atkinson played a priest who butchered the wedding vows ("do you take this bride as your awful wedded wife"), and co-wrote Mr. Bean. Atkinson and Curtis also collaborated on the popular British TV series Black Adder, in which Atkinson’s character moves through British history from medieval times to World War I.