Best Rowan Atkinson Movies, Ranked

Known for his razor-sharp wit and his physical comedy reminiscent of the likes of Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy, Rowan Atkinson is a British cultural icon of comedy. From starring in some of the country’s most revered and beloved sitcoms, including Blackadder and Mr. Bean, to embarking on sold-out stand-up tours and even making an utterly hilarious and unforgettable appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Atkinson is truly one of a kind. Still going strong, more recently, Atkinson has starred in the highly successful Netflix series Man Vs. Bee.

While his career in movies hasn’t been quite as prolific as his work on the small screen, there are still plenty of memorable roles in his repertoire. From his work with renowned rom-com screenwriter Richard Curtis to a playing a narcoleptic Italian tourist in Rat Race, we take a look at the work of the inimitable and uber talented Rowan Atkinson and select his greatest movies.

8 The Witches (1990)

Atkinson has a small yet memorable role as the stuffy hotel manager in this 1990 family film based on Roald Dahl’s fantastically twisted children’s book of the same name. The Witches manages to be one of the most enjoyable, yet thoroughly frightening children’s movies ever made as it follows a coven of witches who meet up at Atkinson’s hotel in disguise as ordinary, everyday people with the aim of specifically targeting children and turning them into mice. That’s not all: we’re told of one poor child who was cursed to spend the rest of her life trapped inside a painting, aging gradually until finally disappearing a few years earlier. The fear factor goes into overdrive, though, when the witches reveal their true form, thanks to Jim Henson for some disgustingly impressive prosthetic work. The long noses, rotting teeth, balding scabby heads and maniacal cackling is enough to give anyone nightmares.

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7 Rat Race

Rat Race was a star-studded rambunctious 2001 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Green, John Cleese, Jon Lovitz, Amy Smart, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kathy Bates, and Atkinson, to name but a few. It follows six teams of people who set off on a race from a Las Vegas casino to New Mexico in the hopes of winning $2 million, while wealthy observers place their own bets on whom they think will win. Each character and team possess their own unique traits that may or may not help them win the race. Atkinson’s character, a simple-minded Italian tourist by the name of Enrico Pollini, unfortunately suffers from severe narcolepsy, which isn’t an ideal trait to possess when participating in a high-stakes cross country race. While Rat Race was a minor commercial hit at the time, it seems to have disappeared into obscurity since, but it’s worth a watch if you get the opportunity, if not just to witness Atkinson delivering his trademark physical comedy and slapstick silliness.

6 Keeping Mum

This little hidden British gem starring Atkinson, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze, plays out like a kind of dark Mary Poppins. In Keeping Mum, Atkinson is a self-obsessed clumsy yet well-meaning vicar who spends most of the film unwittingly neglecting his family whilst preparing the perfect sermon. His family is falling to pieces around him, with his wife falling for a suave American visitor, his teenage daughter attracting the interest of all the wrong types of men, and his son getting relentlessly bullied at school. Enter Dame Maggie Smith as the new housekeeper who adopts some unusual and extreme measures to get the family dynamic back on track. Keeping Mum is a sometimes uneasy but often funny affair, which would appeal to those who prefer their humor on the darker side.

5 Four Weddings and a Funeral

Made on a shoestring budget of under $3.5 million, Four Weddings and a Funeral is now an iconic part of British cinema history, which at the time was the highest-grossing British film in history. Written by Richard Curtis, it stars Hugh Grant alongside Andie MacDowell, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, and Atkinson. Four Weddings and a Funeral is a sweet and funny rom-com that propelled Grant into worldwide superstardom and has ended up on numerous ‘Best British films’ lists over the years. Following the movie’s success, screenwriter Curtis went on to work with Grant multiple times over the course of his career, including in Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and Love Actually, the latter of which also stars Atkinson.

4 Johnny English

As much as we adore Mr. Bean, it is refreshing to see Atkinson play a lead role in a mainstream movie that’s not associated with the character. Here, in a stroke of genius, Atkinson utilizes the bumbling, clumsy and slapstick persona that made Bean so popular and applies it to that of a secret undercover British intelligence spy. Atkinson stars alongside John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, and Ben Miller, in this spy spoof film, which acts as a kind of parody of James Bond. Johnny English went on to be a box office hit that spawned two equally financially successful sequels.

Related: Why Netflix’s Man vs. Bee Deserves a Second Season

3 Love Actually

Now considered a Christmas time classic, Love Actually reunites screenwriter Curtis with actors Grant and Atkinson alongside a who’s who of the top actors from the UK, including Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Martin Freeman, and Bill Nighy, among others. The movie tells multiple different concurrent running romantic comedy stories, many of which interconnect in some way. While Atkinson’s role as the jewelry salesman with a penchant for meticulously gift wrapping may be relatively small, it is an important cog in the story arc.

2 Bean

Atkinson, his Mr. Bean character, and its associated sitcom were already long-established and highly revered in the UK and sit alongside the likes of Monty Python and A Bit of Fry and Laurie as one of the most iconic British comedy creations of all time. Atkinson’s rubbery facial expressions combined with his mute silent slapstick silliness made for peak physical comedy, and after years of delighting fans on the small screen, it only made sense for the character to make the transition to the big screen. With a story concocted by long term collaborators Curtis and Robin Driscoll, fans could rest assured that the project was in good hands. Bean sees Mr. Bean cross the pond and continue his madcap adventures stateside whilst staying at a guest family’s house hosted by family patriarch David Langley, played fantastically by Peter MacNicol. The movie brought the magic of Mr. Bean to the world at large and was a box office smash as a result.

1 The Lion King

The Lion King is among the most successful and most beloved animated movies of all time. Released in 1994 it is still the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, as well as the best-selling film on home video. Among its numerous awards wins, it boasts two Academy Awards, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Honestly, there’s not much to say about the brilliance of The Lion King that hasn’t already been said, with critics universally praising the movie for its music, story, themes, animation, and its voice cast, which includes James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Broderick, and, of course, Atkinson. Atkinson voices Zazu, a fast-talking hornbill who serves as the King’s majordomo or ‘Mufasa’s little stooge’ as he’s not so affectionately referred to by Scar’s hyena minions.