The beloved character Mr. Bean existed years before actor Rowan Atkinson even named him, and Atkinson may not even have realized it. As a man of many faces, his ability to bring characters into the world out of the ether is astounding.
‘Ordinary’ person on a train
In a resurfaced clip from the interview posted on Instagram, Atkinson describes a very “ordinary” person on a train. He sits in his suit and tie and explains that with just a simple change of his facial expression, he can transform into an entirely different, hilarious (and peculiar) person.
He describes this mysterious human, saying, “The person sitting opposite you on the train behaves like…” He cuts himself off, realizing he’d rather show than tell. “I can demonstrate a very ordinary, very inoffensive person doing nothing, but somehow being funny. He stands up, he’s doing nothing, and he sits down.” Atkinson physically acts out standing and sitting, bending his knees in and hunching over.
And just like that, you can see the split second Bean comes to life. He stretches his face, licks his lips, and bulges out his eyes, much to the delight of the studio audience. He further crosses his arms uncomfortably and lets out a giant sigh. He looks at the (invisible) person next to him and smiles, then averts his eyes in an insecure yet charming way.
Not a single word
It’s a sight to behold. He said absolutely nothing, yet his entire demeanor shifted. About ten years later, Mr. Bean would come to life in his own sitcom, later delighting audiences worldwide with multiple films.
The character had only been a wisp of an idea years earlier. Atkinson explains to Outstanding Screenplays that ITV had simply needed a filler. “ITV was looking to fill this one gap in the schedule,” he said. “The screenwriter and I had met when we were both students at Oxford. And we had already done some visual sketches. I had discovered by then, I suppose, that I could express myself without words.”
Various outlets have shared the clip, including an Instagram page (@paidjoke) best known for pop culture memes and clips. They write, “Man, the moment he transforms into Mr. Bean is absurd. Honestly nothing humbles you quite like realizing your entire personality is just five different variations of sitting quietly while mentally screaming until it is socially acceptable to leave.”
‘True cinema’
The Instagram post alone has received over 1.6 million likes and nearly 5,000 comments in just two days. One person shared that it helped them understand the character’s genius: “I now finally understand Mr. Bean. A man with high emotional and intellectual intelligence can only exist when you truly know anxiety and insecurity. To feel confident is also to feel at home with knowing what self-consciousness really is. And to demonstrate it for film and emphasize it, is true cinema.”
Another notes how incredible the transformation was. “It’s like a whole different person stood up and another person sat down.”
Another Instagrammer points out how something as small as a sigh or a yawn can create such hilarity. “This person made millions of people laugh without saying anything.”
