11 Minutes of Mr. Bean Cracking up Celebrities

Some people are funny because of what they say. Rowan Atkinson is funny because of who he is. The moment he walks into a room, every celebrity in it forgets how to act. For decades, he has been walking into rooms full of celebrities and quietly dismantling every single person in them, usually without even raising his voice. Baa. Filling a small glass of water. Well, just use your eyes. Just use your eyes. Just open your eyes. I believe it's your diary, right? That's my diary! Yeah, it is. And you know what? It says here on page one, if I have been silly enough to mislay this diary, please return it to Mr. Bean. And P.S., a five pound reward would certainly not be out of the question. You owe me five pounds, if you want it. That is the thing about Rowan Atkinson. He does not announce the joke. He does not build up to it. He simply says the thing nobody expected him to say, and then sits back while the room falls apart around him. Yeah, the thing I find most tricky is when people don't recognize you particularly, but half recognize you. You know, it's that strange thing where they go... And of course, that means they stare. They stare a lot. And they just look. I did a movie quite a while ago called Mr. Bean's Holiday. Oh, yes. In which Mr. Bean... You're so casual about that. I did a film called Mr. Bean's Holiday. Well, does he feel like an even bigger knob if he said, oh, well, of course you all know Mr. Bean's Holiday. Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to reduce my knobbed quotient. You can actually see it happen in real time. Hosts start looking away. Guests cover their faces. Some people physically turn their entire bodies away from him trying to recover. And Rowan just sits there looking completely innocent, like he has absolutely no idea what just happened. Yes, I certainly remember the night. It was a one-off. It was a one-night review. And I was asked if I wanted to do something, and I couldn't think of anything. And I just stood in front of a mirror, to be honest, and I just started pulling faces, I mean, for want of a better term. And I just sort of, you know, was doing this... And then there was this idea of having a card that hadn't got anything that I could... Anyway, it was something like that. What separates him from most comedians is timing. He understands something most performers never learn, that sometimes the pause is funnier than the punchline, and sometimes saying nothing at all Merci beaucoup. Cheers. I'm not sure I've ever met a man quite like you, Basil. Let me clear up the uncertainty for you. You haven't. These are professional television hosts, people who have interviewed presidents, pop stars, and Hollywood royalty without flinching. And yet one conversation with Rowan Atkinson is enough to make all of that experience completely useless. Cars, then, you know, then he'd enjoy it. But anyway, it's fantastic to be here. I'm a guest of George Russell, which is, you know... It wasn't planned for me to be here on a weekend, you know, when he got polled, but here we are. Rowan Atkinson, name-dropping, whatever next. I know, I know, I'm here as a matter of fact, as a guest of George Russell, so... Oh, fantastic, fantastic. So that's how privileged I am. And it is not just interviews. On set, it is exactly the same story. Trained actors who know the script, know the scene, and have worked with Rowan before still cannot get through a take without losing it completely. Forget the whole thing! I'm going back home with Miggsy! Yes, yes, yes! Ooh, show me the Glenweather, keep our rooms free and together... Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. You've got too funny. Sorry. It's funny to me that he addressed it all to Miggins. Yeah. Consulting with the wife. Yeah, I know what you mean. The funniest part about Rowan Atkinson is that he genuinely does not seem to think he is being particularly funny. Start with a quote that I read from you. It says, The problem with talk shows is that you're supposed to amuse. I generally rely on being interesting rather than funny. They just want people with wacky stories about airports and I haven't really got any. How true. It's true. How true. I haven't. He tells a story the way anyone would tell a story, except somehow. By the end of it, three people are crying and the host has completely forgotten what the show is about. I'm always rather confused, as I think I know you are, about whether I'm a comedian or whether I'm an actor. No. Or whether I'm an actor. No, I'm not confused. You're not confused at all. I'll stop talking. I know you're boring now, and I know you will consider... Nobody is safe. It does not matter how experienced the interviewer is, how prepared the host thinks they are, or how simple the question was supposed to be. The moment Rowan decides to answer it in his own way, the conversation is no longer theirs. Go on. That was really good, thank you. This side or this side? Do you want to sit down? No, no, no. I'll get behind you. I just sit here and do nothing? You don't have to do anything. Okay. Coming up on Sunrise this morning, we meet the lovely Mr Rowan Atkinson, we talk about Mr Bean's holiday, and all you have to say is, if you miss it, you miss out. Simple as that. You ready? I'm good at this. You're good, okay. Interesting. Morning, Neil Sean here on Sunrise, a man who needs no introduction, Mr Rowan Atkinson, and we talk about Mr Bean's holiday. Remember though, Rowan... Sorry? If you miss it, you miss out. Do you mind doing that again? Yeah, okay. Morning, Neil Sean here on Sunrise, this morning we meet Mr Rowan Atkinson, and we talk all about Mr Bean's holiday. Remember though, Rowan... What? If you miss it, you miss out. Oh, yes. Don't miss Rowan Atkinson on Sunrise this morning. Despite being one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, Rowan Atkinson carries himself like someone who still finds the whole thing slightly baffling. And that genuine confusion is part of what makes him so disarming. Because the moment you stop expecting the joke is exactly when it arrives. A bit of a squeaky chair. What if we swap? Oh, dear. I seem to be stuck. No, no, just joking. You've got some very squeaky chairs in here. Could we get another chair, please? Can we have another chair, please? Yes. Is that... Is that all right? Well, it's a bit pathetic, actually. Actually, it's quite nice. That reaction right there is what decades of television, film, and live performance looks like when it meets Rowan Atkinson for the first time. It does not matter who you are or how long you have been doing this. The result is always the same. The credit card commercial in New York a few years ago, it was a story in which I had to play a bungling British secret agent. And there's this beautiful woman who gets out of a limo in the middle of New York and he sees her. And this shot, this scene was when I had to look at her as if I'd just fallen in love with her. And the director said, Just imagine that you've just seen your wife for the first time. And my wife happened to be on set at the time. And she said, No, no, no, no, no. That won't work. Tell him to look at her as if she's his new Aston Martin. And then it'll work. And she was right. It inspired me no end. I looked at her like no woman has ever been looked at. Really? Can you give us that look? I'm curious. Yeah. Yes, I normally stay till the end as well. You can go and have to. If you wish.