Rowan Atkinson is best known for the character of Mr. Bean, a lovably moronic TV star whose main thing is that he doesn't talk. But Atkinson himself has plenty to say, as the actor has just unleashed a lengthy tirade against the perceived rise of "cancel culture" in the media.
Speaking with the Radio Times [via Variety], the original Bean dad said that he's tired of what he sees as censorship in online discourse.
"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," he said. "It becomes a case of either you're with us or against us. And if you're against us, you deserve to be 'cancelled.'
"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," he continued. "So it is scary for anyone who's a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future."
Atkinson's fears about the future also include Mr. Bean himself. As it turns out, he hates playing the character. "I don't much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it," he said.
Mr. Bean will be back, however it will be in the form of an animated movie. "Having made an animated TV series, we're now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for Mr. Bean — it's easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually," he added.
Atkinson rebooted his Johnny English character for a movie three years ago, and it turns out he probably hated that process too.
"I don't actually like the process of making anything — with the possible exception of Blackadder, because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine," he said. "But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the '80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn't be easy."
Speaking with the Radio Times [via Variety], the original Bean dad said that he's tired of what he sees as censorship in online discourse.
"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," he said. "It becomes a case of either you're with us or against us. And if you're against us, you deserve to be 'cancelled.'
"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," he continued. "So it is scary for anyone who's a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future."
Atkinson's fears about the future also include Mr. Bean himself. As it turns out, he hates playing the character. "I don't much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it," he said.
Mr. Bean will be back, however it will be in the form of an animated movie. "Having made an animated TV series, we're now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for Mr. Bean — it's easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually," he added.
Atkinson rebooted his Johnny English character for a movie three years ago, and it turns out he probably hated that process too.
"I don't actually like the process of making anything — with the possible exception of Blackadder, because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine," he said. "But Blackadder represented the creative energy we all had in the '80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn't be easy."