Rowan Atkinson studied electrical engineering at Oxford University. Like many hopeful electrical engineers, he went on to become an international comedy superstar.

Atkinson plays the title character in "Johnny English," a secret agent with a skeptical attitude toward gadgets. He'd rather solve dilemmas with his mind. The only problem is that his bumbling tends to get in the way of his spy work.

Watch Sarah Lane's Bit Chat interview with Atkinson to learn why he chose to drop the electrical engineering gig, why he thinks the telephone is the coolest spy gadget ever, and to see a little bit of him in action in "Johnny English."


Click to play video


Rowan on the Web

• The official Johnny English site
• Rowan Atkinson page at Internet Movie Database
• Rowan Atkinson Information Gateway
• The Complete Mr. Bean Sound Library
• The official BlackAdder site at BBC.com
• Not the Nine O'Clock News, the British sketch-comedy series that launched Atkinson's stardom