Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson has had enough of playing the silly, iconic character. Atkinson opened up about his tenure in the role during an interview with U.K. outlet Radio Times, where he also touched on “cancel culture,” which seems like it might also be a factor in the actor’s exhaustion from pressure. In fact, Atkinson says he does not have much fun playing the character, at all anymore and he is ready to put this part of his career behind him.
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“I don’t much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant,” Atkinson said. “I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it.” Atkinson started in the role of Mr. Bean in 1990, having a series which ran through 1995. The character would go on to have a couple of movies and has an animated series on the way.
For Atkinson, the animated series and movies are a bit easier than the live-action titles. “Having made an animated TV series, we’re now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for Mr. Bean,” Atkinson said. “It’s easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually.”
Atkinson also spoke about his views on social media users creating what is referred to as “cancel culture,” which essentially spawns a boycott of individuals whose viewpoints are extremely contrary to others. “The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘canceled,’” Atkinson said. “It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn. So it is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future.”
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