Rowan Atkinson wants to retire 'stressful' ‘Mr. Bean’

MANILA, Philippines — British actor Rowan Atkinson confessed that he wants to retire the titular role of “Mr. Bean.”

Although it’s the character he’s most well known for, Rowan said that playing Mr. Bean isn’t as fun on his end.

“I don't much enjoy playing him. The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it,” the actor said in an interview with British weekly magazine Radio Times.

He is currently developing an animated film for "Mr. Bean," a counterpart to the hit animated television series, which he finds relatively more feasible than a live-action project.

“It's easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually,” Rowan said of voicing the animated Bean character, who doesn’t speak much in the first place.

Included in the 65-year-old's portfolio is the "Mr. Bean" sitcom from 1990 to 1995, as well as the films “Bean” in 1997 and “Mr. Bean's Holiday” in 2007.

The comedian gave credit to the franchise, saying that its success never surprised him.

“Watching an adult behaving in a childish way without being remotely aware of his inappropriateness is fundamentally funny. The fact the comedy is visual rather than verbal means it has been successful internationally, too.”

He singled out the “Blackadder” series as a project he liked since the humor was a collective rather than solo effort that depended on him alone.

“I don't actually like the process of making anything – with the possible exception of Blackadder, because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine.”