Rowan Atkinson recalls Love Actually chaos and life without social media

Rowan Atkinson joined Scott Mills on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show today and looked back at his most famous roles.

He also shared why he remains happily offline, giving Scott a rare insight into his career, his university days with Richard Curtis and the pressure of performing at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

During the conversation he revealed that he has never properly watched Love Actually despite starring in one of its best-known scenes, which he remembered filming through the night as Alan Rickman became increasingly frustrated by the endless retakes in Selfridges.

Rowan told Scott that he finds life far calmer without social media because it removes a constant stream of noise, although he admitted that being disconnected means he never knows what people are saying about him, which he accepts as a small price to pay.

He laughed about discovering a completely invented IQ score attached to his name online and said it confirmed his decision to stay away for good.

Speaking about meeting Richard Curtis at Oxford University when they were students, he explained how their early performances quickly shaped the comedy partnership that led to Not The Nine O’Clock News and the beginnings of Mr Bean.

Rowan remembered experimenting with unusual characters on stage and said those moments convinced Richard that they should work together, which changed both of their careers.

He also chatted about performing Chariots of Fire at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, saying that focusing on the sketch itself helped him block out the size of the global audience. He said he treated it just like any early gig, concentrating only on making the joke work.

Talking about developing Mr Bean for television, Rowan said several names were tested before landing on Bean, including Mr White and a list of vegetables that he now finds very funny.

He then discussed his new Netflix project Man vs Baby, written with William Davis, which follows Trevor Bingley as a school caretaker caught up in chaos at the nativity play.

Rowan enjoyed talking about sound effects, recalling childhood albums and demonstrating a few animal noises for Scott while joking about releasing a vinyl of effects.

He ended by admitting that he avoids voice notes because they shift the burden to the listener, which he finds unfair, a view Scott fully supported with a laugh.

You can listen back to the interview on BBC Sounds.