Rowan Atkinson to play Fagin

Britain loves Rowan Atkinson and so does the rest of the world.  This offbeat comedian actor is going to play the much hated character of Fagin.  Atkinson does a good bully.  His Blackadder characters were suitably condescending and cold blooded.  The role of the angelic Oliver will be played by three actors.  The fifty three year old actor did say he had always harboured an ambition to play the role of Fagin.  He has done a great deal of West End theatre.  This was in the eighties but since then he felt his time had been monopolised by filming and also Mr Bean. 

Funnyman Rowan Atkinson has made a class act of providing black humour.  His bumbling Mr Bean character is regarded as genius.  This character’s success is based on physical humour.  What Atkinson achieves is remarkable.  Audiences have been smitten with Mr Bean and his odd behaviour.  This character has achieved a cult status.

On 8 January 1956, Atkinson was born in Durham, on a farm.  Before he got into comedy he earned a degree.  Many of his fans are surprised to learn the actor has an engineering degree from Oxford University. It has been suggested that this gives Atkinson his keen sense of detail.  It has to be agreed that he has an uncanny understanding of the mechanics of the human body when it comes to Mr Bean.  Atkinson made a late entry as part of the Monty Python group of actors.

The actor’s career has not been confined to television.  He has also been in big box office films such as:

• Four Weddings And A Funeral
• The Lion King
• Love, Actually
• Johny English
  
  The Oliver cast will be made up of one hundred actors.  The producer is Sir Cameron Mackintosh.  He is of the opinion that Atkinson is volatile and ‘brilliant’ enough to take on the role of Fagin.  The two had been discussing the possibility of the role for a long time.  The last time Oliver was seen as a show was at the London Palladium.  This was back in 1994 and the takings were above forty million pounds over three years. 

Rowan Atkinson is bound to pull in audiences.  He has shown viewers what to expect but it would not be a surprise if the actor has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The actor surprised his many fans when he accepted a role in a James Bond film.  It was his debut in Never Say Never (1983).  Another surprise is that Atkinson is a speed freak.  His passion is for fast cars.  He is the proud owner of an Aston Martin amongst others.  The actor is known as ‘CAR’ when he does articles for a car magazine in Britain.

Rowan Atkinson fans can see him in the role of Fagin when the musical opens in December at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.