Rowan Atkinson is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his work on the sitcom Mr. Bean (1990–1995). His journey to become the most famous character around the globe wasn’t an easy one.
He had to deal with his failures and rejections before he got his chance to shine. Despite several failures, he never gave up. He kept working hard towards his passion and accomplished himself worldwide. Here’s his success story.
Early life:—
Rowan Atkinson was born into a middle-class family. He had a speech disability right from his childhood. This gave him a tough time in his youth and at the start of his career. Because of his stuttering, he suffered a lot.
He was constantly bullied and teased because of his appearance and speaking disability. This made him very timid and withdrawn. He didn’t have many friends, and the several rejections left him feeling lonely.
One of his teachers commented that “nothing is outstanding about him. I don’t expect him to become a fantastic scientist.” He proved everybody wrong when he got placed at Oxford University.
During his days at Oxford, he started realizing his passion for acting. However, though he was eager to try it out, the biggest hurdle that stood in his way was his stuttering. So leaving acting aside, he continued his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Rowan’s struggles and failures:
After he finished his Master’s degree, he decided that he wanted to be an actor. He went ahead to chase his dreams of becoming an actor. He enrolled himself in a comedy group, but his stammering again stood in the way.
Rowan found it extremely difficult to get past this significant barrier. He faced several hardships, but he never stopped believing in himself despite all of them. He auditioned for several TV shows but faced back-to-back rejections.
He kept getting rejected because he didn’t have a good face and a grand body, as well as his stammering problem.
Rowan Atkinson kept his passion alive and worked hard toward reaching his dreams. He aimed at making people laugh and has successfully established this with persistent efforts over the years. After several rejections, he started creating original comedy sketches.
Interestingly, he realized that whenever he played a character, he spoke fluently. He used it as inspiration for his acting. This is precisely where Rowan’s life changed.
Rowan’s breakthrough:—
Rowan kept going after his dreams, even though he had trouble and was turned down because of how he looked and behaved.He had a breakthrough when he started his show, Mr. Bean.
Mr.Bean was a “strange, surreal, and non-speaking character.” He proved that even without a Hollywood face or a heroic body, you could become one of the world’s most loved and respected actors. Today, his net worth is $130 million. And he is one of the funniest actors in the world.
He was never tired of believing in his dreams. He kept moving forward despite the ups and downs of his career. Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson compares ‘cancel culture’ to a ‘medieval mob looking for someone to burn.’
Life lessons from Rowan Atkinson’s life:
Rowan Atkinson’s life teaches us that to be successful in life, the most important things are: hard work, dedication, passion, and, of course, never giving up!
Because without caring about our feelings and weaknesses, everyday life impedes our path to success. Those obstacles come from self-doubt, failures, rejections, and other people’s opinions.
But life always rewards those who are willing to keep moving forward. He teaches us that you don’t need a beautiful face or a heroic body for success.
All you need is hard work. Never let your fears and disabilities cripple your life. Walk past these and make yourself better. Your hard work and efforts are sure to pay off one day.