Beans are having, as the saying goes, a moment. Social media lit up over the weekend about the "Bean Dad" scandal, quickly followed today by Rowan Atkinson, in a Radio Times interview, talking about re-visiting one of his most famous characters, Mr. Bean.
Atkinson tells the magazine that he's in the "foothills" of development on an animated film featuring the character, which would seem to be his preference given the physical and emotional challenges of the role in live-action. "It’s easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually," he says. "I don’t much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting and I look forward to the end of it."
Bean has form in animation on the small screen, of course, and you can also imagine that it's easier to get something going in 'toon form these days, given the ongoing situation.
Yet Atkinson also addressed talk of a new generation of Blackadder, saying that he thinks it could be a difficult job. Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the ’80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn’t be easy." To read the full interview, in which he also addresses online cancel culture (and we're back to Bean Dad), you'll need to pick up the latest Radio Times. Atkinson is currently at work on Netflix series Man Vs. Bee which... well, the title pretty much speaks for itself, there.