Comedy of Errors Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1955

Rowan Atkinson was born in County Durham in 1955. He had three older brothers, including the notable economist, Rodney Atkinson. As a young adult, he attended Newcastle University and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. He later went on to study at the Master's level at The Queen's College, Oxford.

Answer: Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson were both part of the Experimental Theatre Club, a student dramatic society at the University of Oxford. The pair began to write together and collaborated on a BBC Radio 3 show called "The Atkinson People". But the partnership didn't end there: they went on to work together on TV projects and on films.

Answer: Sketch show

"Not the Nine O'clock News" ran from 1979 to 1982. It was a sketch show that parodied BBC 1's "Nine O'clock News" and featured satires on current news stories, as well as songs and spoof TV formats. The success of the series helped Atkinson to earn the lead role in a BBC1 sitcom in 1983.

Answer: Blackadder

Blackadder was the title character in the BBC1 sitcom series that began in 1983 with "The Black Adder". Atkinson co-wrote the first series with Richard Curtis, but from the second series, Ben Elton took over as co-writer with Curtis. Atkinson remained in the lead role alongside Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick. A variety of other famous names in British comedy appeared in "Blackadder", including Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.

Blackadder always tried to do better in life, often in a dubiously moral way. Things rarely went the way he planned, however!

Answer: Physical comedy

Mr Bean seemed to cause chaos wherever he went and rarely noticed the trouble he caused. For example, in "Mr. Bean Rides Again", he tried to save someone who was having a heart attack. When the ambulance arrived, however, he used it to jump-start his car battery, which drained the power out of the ambulance.

The series was so popular that it spawned an animated series, two feature films, and a wide array of other appearances across TV, commercials, and music videos.

Answer: The Lion King (1994)

In 1994, Atkinson voiced Zazu, a red-billed hornbill in "The Lion King". Zazu was the head of the royal lions' household staff. Other feature films that Atkinson has appeared in include "Never Say Never Again", "Love Actually", and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (the latter two were additional collaborations with writer Richard Curtis).

Answer: Johnny English

Johnny English was an incompetent spy who worked for MI7. In "Johnny English", he was tasked with protecting the Crown Jewels and the future of the British royal family. Atkinson was nominated for Best Actor at the European Film Award for his performance in 2003. "Johnny English" was followed by "Johnny English Reborn" in 2011, and "Johnny English Strikes Again" in 2018.

Answer: Mr Bean

When the Olympics came to London in 2012, the opening ceremony featured a vast array of British cultural icons. Mr Bean was one of those icons. He sat at a keyboard with the orchestra and played one note repeatedly during the theme from "Chariots of Fire". Overcome with boredom, he began to check his mobile phone and take photos.

Answer: False

Rowan Atkinson wasn't in the classic British sci-fi show "Doctor Who" with Peter Capaldi, but he did play the Doctor once. In 1999, a television special called "Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death" was produced for a Comic Relief telethon. It was a parody of "Doctor Who", which was off air at the time.

The episode featured Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor and Jonathan Pryce as the Master. It was written by Steven Moffat and Richard Curtis was an executive producer. Other big names also took part in the episode: Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Joanna Lumley all played versions of the Doctor in the TV special.

Answer: Commander of the Order of the British Empire

In the Birthday Honours list, Rowan Atkinson received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE for short. The title was given for his services to drama, as well as his charity work. As well as working on dozens of films and TV shows, he has appeared in a number of charity television specials and fronted a campaign for Give Blood.