Biografie

He has suffered with a stammer for many years, hence does not like giving interviews.

He has trouble pronouncing words that begin with the letter B and followed by a vowel. He has to pause slightly to say them.

He rides go-karts round his tennis courts and, according to Stephen Fry (his best man), "hasn't got an ounce of showbiz in him".

His education: Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK (electrical engineering); Oxford University, Oxford, UK (electrical engineering).

He disliked Blackadder (1982). So did Michael Grade, who became Controller of BBC One in 1984 and nearly cancelled further series.

People think because I can make them laugh on the stage, I'll be able to make them laugh in person. That isn't the case at all. I am essentially a rather quiet, dull person who just happens to be a performer.

[commenting in 2004 on Britain's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill] To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom. The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas - even if they are sincerely held beliefs - is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. A law which attempts to say you can criticize and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed.

Mr. Bean is essentially a child trapped in the body of a man. All cultures identify with children in a similar way, so he has this bizarre global outreach. And 10-year-old boys from different cultures have more in common than 30-year-olds. As we grow up, we acquire this sensibility that divides us.

I remember looking up Johnny English - Der Spion, der es versiebte (2003) in a film guide and it said 'intermittently hilarious' - quite a good description of five good jokes and a lot of longueurs. I find it frustrating that, apart from Vier Hochzeiten und ein Todesfall (1994), I have yet to be involved in a film of which I am totally proud.

The casual ease which some people move from finding something offensive to wishing to declare it criminal - and are then able to find factions within government to aid their ambitions - is truly depressing.