Many people may not know Rowan Atkinson but they definitely know Mr Bean. His antics are one of a kind, and he’s a riot with kids. British actor Atkinson is so popular as Mr Bean that this caricaturish identity — moulded along the lines of silent era comedy — often overshadows his other performances in films.

But Atkinson, who brought to life a “child in a grown-up man’s body” through his portrayal of the fan-favourite character, has also worked in several other critically acclaimed projects that got overshadowed by the overwhelming popularity of Mr Bean.

Atkinson has played notable small roles in films – Nigel Small-Fawcett in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again; the bumbling Father Gerald in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994); and Rufus in Love Actually (2003). He has also led a number of television shows. Atkinson recently returned with the Netflix series Man vs Bee that brings back the elements of comedy that Mr Bean fans are familiar with.

Here are some of Atkinson’s best performances that every Mr Bean fan must check out.

Trevor in Man vs Bee

In the recent OTT-only series, Man vs Bee, Atkinson plays Trevor, a novice house-setter who is supposed to take care of a super posh and expensive house. The disastrous antics of Trevor while attempting to kill a bee are close to watching Mr Bean but with dialogues. Some of the scenes are a throwback to the comedic sequences performed by Atkinson as Bean. From his over-the-top gestures to his spot-on expressions, Atkinson’s Trevor is a delight to watch.

The nine-episode Netflix series has a twist at the end which, as always, ensures a happy ending for Atkinson’s character. The series could have been condensed into a film to make it feel less stretched out. However, Atkinson’s performance is engaging from the beginning when he blames the bee for the destruction he causes till the end.

Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder

Before most of us knew Atkinson as Bean, he was known to a generation of people as Blackadder. Aired between 1983 and 1989, Blackadder was a British period sitcom. The show followed Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and his lackey Baldrick (Tony Robinson) through different scenarios set in different historical periods.

The show took Blackadder and Baldrick through four separate periods: the British Middle Ages, the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the Regency period and World War I. The popular show had several spin-off sketches, specials and theatrical performances, some of which Atkinson has been a part of. Blackadder has more gritty and witty comedy, very different from what we are used to in Mr Bean.

Johnny English in Johnny English

In the spy comedy Johnny English (2003), Atkinson takes the lead role as an accident-prone secret agent with the British intelligence agency MI7. The character Johnny English is shown to take himself very seriously but his actions put him in hilarious predicaments. The character is on a personal mission to become the organisation’s top agent. Instead of doing things to impress the higher-ups, he manages to botch plans to nab the villain. His good intentions, however, lead to another happy ending for the comic hero.

The 2003 movie led to two sequels — Johnny English Reborn (2011) and Johnny English Strikes Again (2018). The Johnny English franchise is known for Atkinson’s comedy, which is a mix of Blackadder’s dark comedy and Bean’s physical comedy.

Zazu in Lion King

Much before John Oliver became the voice of Zazu in the 2019 live action The Lion King, the hornbill bird was originally voiced by Atkinson in 1994’s The Lion King. Zazu would have been voiced by Nathan Lane who ended up voicing Timone. However, sticking to a British voice for the traditionalist assistant to the king of the jungle, Atkinson was cast in the role. He added comedy to the morning report that he read out to Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and even lent his voice to the song I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.

Atkinson did not return to voice Zazu in any of the following films of the franchise. He had shared that he found voice acting to be limiting.

Reverend Walter Goodfellow in Keeping Mum

In the 2005 British dark comedy Keeping Mum, Atkinson joined a star-studded cast which included Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. Atkinson played Reverend Walter Goodfellow, the vicar of Little Wallop, in which he brought back the comedy he showcased as Father Gerald in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Reverend Goodfellow is focused on writing the perfect sermon while being completely unaware of what is going on with his family at home. Maggie Smith is introduced as a fix-it-all Mary Poppins character, Grace Hawkins. The movie focuses on how Grace takes care of the family’s problems by choosing to kill those posing a problem to them. While Grace and the Goodfellow family are at the forefront of the film, Atkinson’s absentee patriarch embodiment is done to perfection.

Jules Maigret in Maigret

In 2016-2017, Atkinson took on a very different and serious role of a fictional French detective, Jules Maigret. The show was inspired by the character created by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon. Though Simenon wrote 75 novels and 28 short stories on Maigret between 1931 and 1972, the show starring Atkinson had only two seasons with two 90-minute episodes each.

Atkinson, who admitted to being a fan of Maigret, took on the role of the burly, pipe-smoking French detective. Though his run as Maigret was short-lived, his mission to catch the murderers in the series is worth a watch. The stone-faced chief inspector is a world apart from the rubber-faced Bean.

As himself in Rowan Atkinson Live

Atkinson is not only impressive as different characters in different shows and movies, he is at his funniest when he is himself. He is noted for a number of live sketches but the 1992 Rowan Atkinson Live is one that should not be missed. The full live performance in Boston was made available on DVD and can now be watched on YouTube. In the special, he performs several different skits, playing various characters.