Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean has landed a role in a new film adaptation of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The fIlm is set for release in 2008 and we get the following news from Variety:
Having proved his status again as a worldwide draw even without mastering American auds, “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” star Rowan Atkinson is set to reunite with his “Johnny English” director Peter Howitt for a version of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield.” In “Copperfield,” Atkinson will play Mr. Micawber, Copperfield’s landlord and one of Dickens’ most famous comic characters, eternally and irrationally optimistic as he slides toward financial ruin.
“This is a very fresh adaptation of the novel, not the chocolate-boxy, stolid version of Dickens that we are used to,” Johns said. “It won’t be mannered or reverential. With Dickens, filmmakers have been trapped in this place where you have caricatured characters, but Peter wants to deal with them like real people.
Rowan Atkinson is a very talented performer. It is a great idea to have him play an already beloved literary character. He will be able to pull it off as good as anyone, and he has been blessed with one of the most expressive faces in all of cinema. His expressions allowed him to have a TV show (Mr. Bean) where hardly any language was used, which set the show up perfectly for international distribution.
Watching Rowan preform is always a delight, his stand up is brilliant, Black Adder was a riot and recently he was great in Keeping Mum. I always am delighted when he is involved in a project; we will see what he does with the character of Mr. Micawber.
