Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. After studying electrical engineering at Oxford, he rose to prominence in the UK with the BBC satirical show *Not the Nine O'Clock News*, which earned him a BAFTA award. His national fame was consolidated with the historical sitcom *Blackadder*, which he co-wrote and starred in. He achieved worldwide success with the creation of the character Mr. Bean, whose almost exclusively physical comedy transcended language barriers, spawning a television series, two feature films, and an animated series. His film career also includes the spy-comedy trilogy *Johnny English*, as well as several supporting and voice-acting roles, such as the voice of Zazu in *The Lion King*. For his contributions to drama and charity, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013.