This is where the
webmistress and some esteemed RAIG contributors attempt to answer questions submitted on
the Interview! page that are good questions, but we feel
have been answered in interviews already. Alternatively, because they are such easy
questions that you should be ashamed that you didn't bother to actually read some
of the matieral on this site before submitting them.
Note on
January 26, 2003: Your webmistress is disabling the submit questions option
because she doesn't have the brain capacity to deal with any more silly
questions. Sorry.
1.
Where was Rowan Atkinson born? Rowan Atkinson was born in County
Durham, England. The press release for The Tall Guy
claims Consett, but every other source says
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Alas, we are not familiar with the local geography, but our best
guess is that Consett is a suburb of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here's a map.
2.
Has Rowan Atkinson ever considered playing a serious role in a movie or theatrical play,
such as in The Phantom of the Opera? Rowan Atkinson has starred in a couple of serious theatrical plays early in
his career (not counting school plays). Notably, he appeared in The Nerd in 1984
and The Sneeze in 1988. The former was an American import by playwright Larry
Shue in which Atkinson played the eponymous nerd. The latter was a collection of
Chekhov-inspired shorts by Michael Frayn. Both received mixed reviews from critics and
audiences alike. As to musical roles, while Atkinson can certainly carry a tune (just
listen to such gems as I Like Bouncing from the NTNON
days, or the duet Do Bears... with Kate Bush), we doubt whether
Atkinson or the audience would be well-served by a full-length musical production.
3. Is
Rowan Atkinson a reader? Okay, this question was rescued from the In!Ter!View!
page not because it's a bad question, but because it has been partially answered in a 1988 article. And precisely because the article is over 10
years old, we also magnanimously included it with the interview questions, so the
contributor of the question gets the best of both worlds. In aforementioned article,
Atkinson explains how he stumbled onto his first Chekhov play and how his producer
"revealed that there were eight or nine of
these things. [...] I am quite philistine. Mine was the relatively uneducated man's
approach to the whole thing, but then that's generally my approach to everything. I'm
quite glad, in a sense, that I'm not well read." There you have it; up-to-the-second
reporting on how, at least 12 years ago, Atkinson did not consider himself a reader.
4. Are there
any pictures of family members - mother, brother, wife? I'm sure there are plenty of pictures of Rowan Atkinson's mother, brothers and
wife - in his photo album. You certainly won't find any on this site. If you need reasons
why not, we've got a whole pageful for you: read the Ethics
section.
5. If he
wasn't an actor, what would he be? Rowan Atkinson was trained as an electrical engineer first at Newcastle then
at Oxford University. As far as we know, though, he never worked a day as an electrical
engineer, unless you count Mr Bean's more "electrifying" mishaps. Despite his
meteoric rise in the world of comedy and the accompanying financial success, Atkinson's
passport listed "engineer" as his occupation up until 1983 (Telegraph, 1999). Most journalists and his self-appointed
biographer would have you believe that this was the result of a lingering
uncertainty about his choice of occupation. We find it just as likely that his passport
wasn't due for renewal until 1983. Various sources also claim that Atkinson maintained an
enduring interest in establishing a trucking business, more specifically a transportation
service for theatrical equipment. Though he obtained his Heavy Goods Vehicle licence, we
think that's as far as he got with the trucking company idea. So much for what might have
been. Now consider what is: in addition to being an actor, he is also a producer, writer,
and businessman. That's quite a gamut of occupations quite aside from his education, which
wasn't entirely wasted; instead, it lives on through his avocation of car enthusiast.