Buzz
Mr. Bean has become a global sensation. His nearly silent, expressive adventures turned him into a cross-cultural symbol during the 1990s, a time when his comedic sketches were almost unavoidable on television screens worldwide.
However, across the show’s five-year span and 14 episodes, very little is disclosed about Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson). His family remains unseen, the source of his income for his London flat is a mystery, and his first name is never disclosed.
His mysterious persona and consistently bizarre actions have prompted some to theorize that Mr. Bean might not be human. Is it possible he’s actually an alien?
The theory that Mr. Bean is an extraterrestrial originated during the show’s initial airing in the pre-internet era, partly inspired by the opening credits where he is seen falling from the sky. Another popular hypothesis suggested he was an angel cast out of heaven, supported by the choral music in the sequence. (Interestingly, the choir sings in Latin: “Ecce homo qui est faba,” meaning “Behold, the man who is a bean.”)
While the idea of Mr. Bean being an alien is less plausible than him simply being an eccentric individual, some find it compelling. His apparent inability to grasp basic concepts, peculiar behavior, and difficulty forming human connections could all be explained if he were not human. His constant attire, bizarre modifications like a barn-style deadbolt on his car, and lack of conventional logic or empathy seem to align with this theory—if one chooses to believe it.
The theory received a playful nod in the animated spinoff Mr. Bean: The Animated Series. In one episode, Mr. Bean meets a lookalike who turns out to be an alien, part of a group of Bean-like beings aboard a UFO. Whether the animated series is considered canon is debatable, though it features Rowan Atkinson’s voice and involvement from the original series’ producers.
That said, the mythology surrounding Mr. Bean isn’t particularly extensive. While Atkinson has admitted the character has “an alien aspect,” he was primarily inspired by Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot—a quirky but undeniably human figure.
Much like his inspiration, Mr. Bean is likely just an extraordinarily odd individual, crafted by Atkinson and Love Actually director Richard Curtis to showcase Atkinson’s exceptional talent for physical comedy.
