Bean and gone
End of the line for silent fool
Rowan Atkinson is to kill off his Mr Bean character.
The comedian is currently working with writer Richard Curtis on a sequel to the £165 million-grossing Bean movie - but says that will be the end of the bungling fool.
'After this movie he will cease to exist,' Atkinson told London's Evening Standard. 'I think that's it for Bean, don't you think?'
He revealed that Bean 2 will be set in Europe rather than America. 'It's in a country where Bean doesn't understand the language,' Atkinson said. 'That makes it ripe for comic interpretation and is good for maintaining the wordless conceit. But it's also got a deeper comic depth, I think.'
But Atkinson said he hated the actual process of making movies.
'I love sitting with Richard and we come up with ideas and sketches... that bit is fun. Making the film, though, is pure drudgery.'
But after Bean he will return to another movie character – the accident-prone secret agent Johnny English
'The first film had so many mistakes,' he admitted. 'This one will be better.’
Published: 26 Nov 2005
