Who is Mr. Bean?

Mr. Bean, or Rowan Atkinson, who first appeared on British television in 1990, is a character who has made millions of people laugh without saying a word. The saying that actions speak louder than words is exactly true for him.

His show, which makes the audience laugh through physical gestures and various activities, has expanded not only to television but also to YouTube, films, animated movies, and social networks. It is said that it is watched in almost 200 countries around the world today.

In a career of more than 25 years, Mr. Bean has become a cultural icon rather than a character in a show. Such a world-famous character neither speaks much nor does anything important, but he always makes people laugh.

Some interesting facts about Mr. Bean

1. Rowan Atkinson started developing the character of Mr. Bean while he was doing his Masters in Electrical Engineering at Oxford University. He first tested the character at the 1979 Edinburgh Festival and in an ITV special called Canned Laughter.

2. Mr. Bean made his first international appearance at the 1987 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, Canada, where he deliberately tested the ability to make people laugh with his body language in front of a French-speaking audience.

3. The TV series Mr. Bean began in 1990. He and his Oxford friend Richard Curtis created it together. He then moved on to Mr. Bean, while Curtis went on to write romantic films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually.

4. The name Mr. Bean was given in 1989. Atkinson and Curtis came up with the name Bean after thinking of names for various vegetables.

5. Mr. Bean has had 14 live-action series of around 30 minutes each sold in over 190 countries.

6. Mr. Bean made his big screen debut in 1997 with ‘Mr. Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie’. The film is one of the highest-grossing films in British history. It is said to have grossed €166 million.

7. Mr. Bean’s second film, ‘Mr. Bean’s Holiday’, was released in 2007. It is said to have grossed €156 million from 65 countries.

8. Mr. Bean is also widely watched on social media. His official YouTube channel of the same name has so far garnered 34 million subscribers and has received over 11 billion views.

10. Mr. Bean has not only appeared on screen, but also in literature. The book ‘Mr. Bean’s Diary’, published in 1993, sold over a million copies.

11. Mr. Bean has been loved even more by fans outside the UK. He has won an International Emmy, a Golden Rose of Montreux, a Cable Ace Award and a BANFF World Media Festival Award.

12. Mr. Bean is so popular that he has become a part of the entertainment for passengers travelling on over 100 airlines.