Portrait of 17-Year-Old Rowan Atkinson, Electrical Engineering at Newcastle University, 1972

Long before he became the face of global comedy, this quiet young man was deeply immersed in circuits, formulas, and the world of electrical engineering.

Captured here in 1972, a young Rowan Atkinson was pursuing his undergraduate studies at Newcastle University. Bright-eyed and sharply dressed, no one could’ve guessed that this soft-spoken student would one day become “Mr. Bean” — a character without words who made the whole world laugh.

17-year-old Rowan Atkinson, electrical engineering student at Newcastle University, 1972.

Rowan was in his first year of university here, having just graduated from the public school St. Bees, where he’d had quite the reputation as a highly intelligent student (especially in science and maths), but also an unruly and rebellious troublemaker. One fellow student remembered him as “the one who is always kept behind after lessons and gets his revenge by writing scurrilous verse in Latin about the master who kept him in.” 

But he could also often be found tinkering with equipment on campus, as he had a great passion for fixing things, and he became a valued member of the school choir and even served as choir secretary. Most notably, though, he had a great talent for the stage, and his performances in school plays left a lasting impression on teachers and peers alike, even prompting his headmaster to tell him, “I have never recommended to anyone that they should take up a career in the entertainment industry, but it would seem silly for you, Atkinson, not at least to try.”

But Rowan, who adored all things electrical and mechanical, put aside his gift for performance for awhile. He followed in the footsteps of his two older brothers and went to Newcastle University, pursuing his passion for engineering. He recalled that he kept to himself and “worked very hard” there, and he was nearly at the top of his class upon earning his undergraduate degree at only 20 years old.

20-year-old Rowan Atkinson, electrical engineering student, pictured tinkering away in his last year at Newcastle University, 1975.

He would next go on to Oxford to do research, and it was there he would discover that he wanted to seriously embrace and pursue a career in comedy and performance. Lucky for all of us!

The info and quotes are from the Rowan Atkinson biography by Bruce Dessau, and Rowan’s Desert Island Discs episode from 1988. (via rowanatkinsonlibrary)