On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
Peter Robinson ·
April 1, 2012 at 10:50pm
Last night, son number two, seventeen, talked me into watching Rowan Atkinson's "Johnny English Reborn" which turned out to be pretty uniformly hilarious and, in parts, simply brilliant. Which got me to wondering. Catching various episodes over the years of James Lipton's interviews on "Inside the Actors' Studio," I'd concluded that whereas a few actors can describe their work, most are simply too intuitive to do so. Whereas actors can act, in brief, few seem able to talk.
Could Atkinson, a master of physical comedy, talk about what he does for a living?
He can.
Below, see for yourself. (And, yes, I'm still stuck at my desk, paying bills and answering emails and looking for ways to procrastinate. Atkinson helped.)
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
Not long ago he appeared on the British car show "Top Gear." His interview there was fantastic as well. This is the youtube clip of it. The first five minutes are him talking about cars and showing clips from Johnny English Reborn, but at around the five minute mark he gets talking about comedy and about how he makes things funny, starting with why the name "Bob" is funny. Well worth a look.
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
Many thanks for the link, Crabtree. It enabled me to procrastinate for another ten thoroughly amusing minutes.
Dec '10
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
Thanks to both, as I too, needed procrastination fuel and had already dawdled-up "Penn's Sunday School"; (I'd link it, but the CoC would be roused from its Sunday sloth).
Interesting that the world had to pass up an engineering scientist and a decent racer to enjoy Black Adder.
May '10
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
I knew him only as Mr Bean for many years. The character of Black Adder (in later episodes, at least) could not be more different. I much prefer his intellectual comedy to his physical comedy, though no one bears an expression of disgust so effortlessly.
Dec '10
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
I still like him best as Raymond Fowler in The Thin Blue Line, although Black Adder is still one of the best comedies ever made.
Jun '11
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
There's something about the Brits and having clever, well-educated comedians. Stephen Fry (blisteringly funny in Blackadder IV), his cohort Hugh Laurie, the Pythons, the Goons, etc., a lot of very smart comics. Although I'm sure they had no short supply of dull-witted gagmen too.
I'm a great fan of Black Adder (it took a while to get over the overabundance of puns and predictable jokes..."Baldrick, that's the somethingiest something since something something somethinged the something!" is pretty much the formula), his standup is great, and his deadpan delivery is fantastic. Black Adder IV (the WWI season) is some of the best TV comedy ever made.
Jul '10
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
He's so right: the creative process is great fun; the post-performance exhiliration is a bit like a drug; even those exceptional moments onstage when you and your fellow actors are really in sync will keep you coming back. But... those last minutes before the curtain opens and you know you have to "perform": Aargh. "Why do I do this? This is so ridiculous! Can't we send everyone home and make them come back some other time?"
The trick, and Atkinson adverts to it, is to burrow right down into the character. If you get it right, it's so natural that you walk offstage with only a vague notion of what just happened. Someone once said to me after a performance, "I never saw that side of you before!" Without even stopping to think, I replied, "That wasn't me." I really meant it.
Oct '11
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
So glad to hear from happy 'beanie's' . Many thanks for all the tips..I love him through all his perculations (?)
Feb '11
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
So he's studied engineering, eh? Maybe he can play Dilbert.
Jun '10
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
I liked "Johnny English" a lot. So, thanks for pushing it this new one to the top of my Netflix queue. I wasn't sure a sequel would work. Glad to hear you liked it.
"Mr. Bean's Holiday" is his best movie. People who excel in skits sometimes have a hard time sustaining the humor (and keeping my attention) in a full length movie. "Mr. Bean" has some great scenes in it and it definitely stays with you but with "Holiday" he gets the formula absolutely perfect.
I loved him in WWI trenches. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry (especially) are absolutely hilarious.
Rowan Atkinson is a real treasure. Great and warm humor usually. Not dirty, not demeaning to the audience, very witty and superb physical comedy. He's one of the very best.
Jun '11
Re: On April Fools, a Highly Intelligent Rowan Atkinson
Well...not too terribly dirty. Black Adder certainly flirted with the bawdy, and I recall a very old standup routine he would do as a clergyman discussing the Church's attitude towards, well, something that a discussion of which might violate the CoC!
I definitely agree that he hit the right note with the second Bean movie. It was a proper Bean movie, about very simple problems, not unduly laden with overdone plot like the first more clumsy attempt. His pantomimic opera performance of "O Mio Babbino Caro" was fantastic!