Coordinates	38°18′07″N47°41′11″N
name	Tim Birkin
nationality	British
years	-
team(s)	Bentley Motors Ltd.Private
best finish	1st (, )
class wins	2 (, ) }}

Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.

Background and family

He was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896. He was the son of Sir Thomas Stanley Birkin, 2nd Bt. and Hon. Margaret Diana Hopetoun Chetwynd. In childhood, Henry Birkin gained the nickname "Tim", after the children's comic book character Tiger Tim, created by Julius Stafford Baker, who was extremely popular at the time. The nickname stuck right up to Birkin's death.

He married Audrey Clara Lilian Latham, daughter of Sir Thomas Paul Latham, 1st Bt. and Florence Clara Walley, on 12 July 1921. They were divorced in 1928.

He and Audrey had two daughters, Pamela and Sara, both of whom married and had issue. The elder daughter Pamela (d. 1983) married two Buxton cousins in succession, and her second husband was the Life Peer Baron Buxton of Alsa, KCVO, MC. She had seven children including wildlife film-maker Cindy Buxton. The younger daughter Sara (d. 1976) married twice, and had two sons by her first husband..

At his death, without sons of his own, in 1933, he was succeeded by his next surviving paternal uncle Sir Alexander Russell Birkin, 3rd Baronet (d. 1942).

His younger brother, Archie Birkin, was killed during practice for the 1927 Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.

Military career

He joined the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the 108th (Norfolk and Suffolk Yeoman) Field Brigade, serving in Palestine where he contracted malaria, a disease from which he would suffer for the rest of his life.

Racing career

In 1921 he turned to motor racing, competing a few races at Brooklands. Business and family pressure then forced him to retire from the tracks until 1927 when he entered a three litre Bentley for a six hour race. For 1928 he acquired a 4½ litre car and after some good results decided to return to motor racing, very much against his family's wishes. Soon the little Bentley driver, racing with a blue and white spotted silk scarf around his neck, would be a familiar sight on the race tracks driving with the works team (the "Bentley Boys"). In 1928 Birkin entered the Le Mans race again, leading the first twenty laps until a jammed wheel forced him to drop back, finishing fifth.

The next year he was back as winner, racing the "Speed Six" as co-driver to Woolf Barnato. If Bentley wanted a more powerful car he developed a bigger model and the Speed Six was a huge car. Ettore Bugatti once referred to the Bentley as "''the world's fastest lorry''" ("Le camion plus vite du monde"). Back in 1928 however, Birkin had come to the conclusion that the future lay in getting more power from a lighter model by fitting a supercharger to the 4½ litre Bentley. When Bentley Motors refused to create the supercharged model Birkin sought he determined to develop it himself. With technical help from Clive Gallop and supercharger specialist Amherst Villiers, and with Dorothy Paget financing the project after his own money had run out, Birkin rebuilt the car at the engineering works he had set up for the purpose at Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. Adding a huge Roots-type supercharger ("blower") in front of the radiator driven straight from the crankshaft gave the car a unique appearance. The 242 bhp "blower Bentley" was born.

The blower Bentley first appeared at the Essex six hour race at Brooklands on 29 June 1929. However, the car initially proved to be very unreliable. W.O. Bentley himself had never accepted the blower Bentley. Nevertheless, with Wolf Barnato's support, Birkin persuaded "W.O." to produce the fifty supercharged cars necessary for the model to be accepted for the Le Mans twenty four hour race. In addition to these production cars built by Bentley Motors, Birkin put together a racing team of four remodelled "prototypes" (three road cars for Le Mans and a track car for Brooklands) and assembled a fifth car from spare parts. Birkin's blower Bentleys were too late for Le Mans in 1929 and only two of the cars reached the start line in 1930. After an epic duel between Dudley Benjafield and Birkin's privately entered blower Bentleys and Rudolf Caracciola's Mercedes SSK all three retired, leaving the victory to the Bentley works team Speed Six of Barnato and Glen Kidston. Birkin's courage and fearless driving, in particular his selflessly harrying Caracciola into submission, are regarded as embodying the true spirit of the Vintage Racing era.

Back in 1925 the energetic motor sports enthusiast Eugène Azemar, who was involved with the Tourist Board in Saint-Gaudens in southern France, succeeded in persuading the Automobile Club du Midi to arrange a Grand Prix race in the region. A great success, the Saint-Gaudens track later got the honor of hosting the 1928 French Grand Prix. If they can, so can we, thought the city council in the nearby town of Pau and decided to try to take the French Grand Prix to their own town. Pau had some Grand Prix traditions, as the town held the honour of arranging the first race ever to be called a Grand Prix back in 1901. For the 1930 Grand Prix a triangular, Le Mans-type track outside the city was selected. Known as the Circuit de Morlaas it should not be confused with the well-known street track in the Parque Beaumont. The French had hoped to run the race to the International Formula, but when the response was poor the event was postponed and changed to a Formula Libre event instead. The new date meant that the Italian teams were unable to attend, leaving it to be mostly an internal French affair with sixteen Bugattis, two Peugeots and a Delage among the twenty five starters. Among the top Bugatti drivers were Louis Chiron, Marcel Lehoux, Count Stanislas Czaikowski, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Philippe Étancelin and William Grover-Williams.

A curiosity in the largely single-seat entry list was Tim Birkin's blower Bentley touring car, stripped down to racing trim, with headlights and mudguards removed. The race distance was twenty five laps of the 15.8 km track, making a total of 396 km. Guy Bouriat took an early lead, followed by Williams, Zanelli, Czaikowski and Étancelin, with Birkin as first non-Bugatti driver, in sixth place. Williams in a works Bugatti then became the next leader. Czaikowski fell back through the field and Bouriat in the other works Bugatti made a pitstop giving over the car to Chiron. Then Williams also had to make a stop for a new wheel. That all made way for Étancelin to advance and he was followed by Birkin, the track with its long straights suiting the supercharged Bentley perfectly.

At one-third distance Chiron led, followed by Étancelin, Williams and Birkin. Birkin's fourth place became a third as Williams got engine troubles but then Zanelli, who had made an early stop, came rushing through the field pushing Birkin back to fourth. At lap ten "Sabipa" crashed and was thrown out of his Bugatti, Birkin only avoiding the injured driver by the slightest of margins. After eleven laps Chiron encountered problems with oil pressure and Étancelin took over the lead. Soon Chiron was also passed by Zanelli and Birkin. The Bentley driver used the horn to warn the Bugatti to move over, surely a unique occurrence in Grand Prix racing! With seven laps to go Zanelli made another pitstop and Birkin was up into second place. While Étancelin, with a 2.5 minute lead, nursed his Bugatti home to take victory, Zanelli had not given up and was catching Birkin fast. At the flag the margin was down to fourteen seconds but it was enough for the British Bentley driver to make Grand Prix history.

Death

Birkin's world fell to pieces at the end of 1930. Bentley Motors withdrew from racing and closed down the following year. (Although purchased by Rolls Royce the marque did not reappear for several years.) And Dorothy Paget withdrew her support for Birkin's road team in October 1930. She continued however to support Birkin's red single seater track car, the original Blower number 1. The car had been re-bodied with a single shell by Reid Railton after it's lightweight fabric two seater body had caught fire in the 1929 500 mile race due to a cracked exhaust ( nicknamed the Brooklands Battleship ). Birkin kept his motor workshop going by entering into a partnership with Mike Couper and developing a business specialising in tuning high performance cars. In addition, an "electric model Brooklands" -- an elaborate miniature racetrack game with motorized cars running on single rails—was manufactured at the works. Birkin's partnership with Couper came to an end in 1932 however and the works closed.

Birkin continued racing despite these setbacks. In 1931 he won Le Mans with Earl Howe in an Alfa Romeo, even receiving a telegram from Mussolini congratulating him on his "win for Italy". On the 24th March 1932 he raised the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record to 137.96 mph in the Brooklands Battleship, a record which stood for another two years before being beaten by John Cobb driving the 24 litre Napier Railton. On 7 May 1933 he started the Tripoli Grand Prix in a new 3 L Maserati 8C owned by fellow driver Bernard Rubin, finishing third. During his pit stop Birkin burnt his arm badly against the hot exhaust pipe while picking up a cigarette lighter. There are different opinions of what then happened. The traditional view is that the wound turned septic whilst others say Birkin suffered from a malaria attack. It was probably a combination of both that proved fatal, as Birkin died at Countess Carnavon Nursing Home in London 22 June 1933.

Memorial

Birkin's life was portrayed in the 1995 TV drama ''Full Throttle'' with comedian Rowan Atkinson in the role of Birkin.

In 2000, the last 54 of the Arnage Green label (BMW) powered cars were created as a limited edition, called "The Birkin Arnage." German aftermarket tuner MTM have latterly produced a tuned version of the Bentley Continental GT called "The Birkin Edition," producing 641 hp.

Birkin House, a Victorian country guest house in Stinsford, Dorchester, is named after Birkin.

The artist Terence Cuneo unveiled his painting The 'Spirit of Brooklands,' which shows Tim Birkin racing John Cobb as the result of a wager, three laps of Brooklands to win. Cobb drove a ten and a half litre Delage, once holder of the land speed record, and Birkin his four and a half supercharged Bentley, the 'Brooklands Battleship.' The higher top speed of the Bentley gave Birkin the edge over the distance, and the painting depicts Birkin on the outside line of the high banking edging past Cobb to win. The actual race had taken place in in the August Bank Holiday of 1932, and Birkin had won by 25 yards after a third lap at 137 mph.

Further reading

Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin - ''Full throttle: Sir Henry ("Tim") Birkin'' (London: G.T. Foulis & Co. Ltd., 1948)

Complete European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

! Year	! Entrant	! Make	! 1	! 2	! 3	! EDC	! Points
	! Private entry	! Maserati		bgcolor="#dfffdf"	bgcolor="#dfffdf"	! 16=	! 16

References

8w.forix.com

The Peerage

Autosport 22 June 2006 p142

The Brooklands Society

German tuner makes maddest Bentley from evo magazine.

Category:1896 births Category:1933 deaths Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:Sherwood Foresters officers Category:Brooklands people Category:Bentley Boys Category:English racecar drivers Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers

de:Tim Birkin fr:Tim Birkin sl:Tim Birkin sv:Tim Birkin

:''For people named Birkin, see Birkin (surname). For the bag by Hermès, see Birkin bag.''

Coordinates	38°18′07″N47°41′11″N
country	England
latitude	53.735390
longitude	-1.196970
official name	Birkin
population	146
civil parish	Birkin
shire district	Selby
shire county	North Yorkshire
region	Yorkshire and the Humber
post town	KNOTTINGLEY
postcode district	WF11
postcode area	WF
os grid reference	SE530268 }}

Birkin is a village and civil parish in the south-west of the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It is north of the River Aire, near Beal, North Yorkshire. The closest town is Knottingley, in West Yorkshire, four miles to the south-west. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 146. Birkin was the birthplace of British philosopher Thomas Hill Green.

The name "Birkin" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area of birch trees.

Category:Villages in North Yorkshire Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire

fr:Birkin nl:Birkin pl:Birkin

Coordinates	38°18′07″N47°41′11″N
birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
birth date	January 06, 1955
birth place	Consett, County Durham, England, United Kingdom
current location	Ipsden, Oxfordshire
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film
genre	Physical comedy, Satire, Black comedy
influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati
influenced	Steve Pemberton, David Walliams, Matt Lucas
active	1978–present
notable work	''Not the Nine O'Clock News''''Blackadder''''Mr. Bean''
spouse
child	Ben Atkinson, Lily Atkinson, Gemma Atkinson, David Atkinson
baftaawards	Best Light Entertainment Performance1981 ''Not the Nine O'Clock News''1990 ''Blackadder Goes Forth''
olivierawards	Best Comedy Performance1981 ''Rowan Atkinson in Revue'' }}

}} Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show ''Not The Nine O'Clock News'', and the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' and ''Mr. Bean''. He has been listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy actors ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.

Early life and education

John Clark, the youngest of the two brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England. His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert. Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935, which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006. First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976, while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career

Radio

Atkinson starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called "The Atkinson People". It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones.

Television

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called ''Canned Laughter''. Atkinson then went on to do ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' for the BBC, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.

The success of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' led to his starring in the medieval sitcom ''The Black Adder'', which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1986. ''Blackadder II'' followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels ''Blackadder the Third'' (1987) (set in the Regency era), and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (1989) (set in World War I). The ''Blackadder'' series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' (1988) and ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years'' (1988).

Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless ''Mr. Bean'', first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton. During this time, Atkinson appeared at the ''Just for Laughs'' comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to ''Mr. Bean'' appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled ''Bean'', it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from ''Not the Nine O'Clock News''. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled ''Mr. Bean's Holiday''.

In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular ''The Thin Blue Line'' television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Hitachi electrical goods, Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in ''Johnny English'' and ''Johnny English Reborn'' was based.

He also starred in a comedy spoof of ''Doctor Who'' as the Doctor, for a red nose day benefit.

Atkinson has also starred as the ''Star in a Reasonably Priced Car'' in the motoring show, ''Top Gear'' in July 2011, where he recorded the fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.

Film

Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie ''Never Say Never Again'' and a leading role in ''Dead on Time'' with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut ''The Tall Guy'' in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's ''The Witches'' in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'', a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''. That same year he was featured in Walt Disney's ''The Lion King'' as Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including ''Rat Race'' (2001), ''Scooby-Doo'' (2002), and ''Love Actually (2003).

In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy ''Keeping Mum'', which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with ''Bean'' to international success. A sequel, ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'', was released in March 2007 and may be the last time he plays the character. He has also starred in the James Bond parody ''Johnny English'' in 2003. Its sequel, ''Johnny English Reborn'' will be released in 2011.

Theatre

Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979).

Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical ''Oliver!'' as Fagin. The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.

Comedic style

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.

One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a ''Blackadder'' episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering, and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton, sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of ''Blackadder the Third'', in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life

Marriage and children

Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC. Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother. The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London. In October 2010, his ''Blackadder'' co-star Stephen Fry confessed on ''The Rob Brydon Show'' and in his second autobiography (''The Fry Chronicles'') that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'. Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.

Politics

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.

In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.

Cars

With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines ''Car'', ''Octane'', ''Evo'', and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1 in 1995.

Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.

A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play ''Full Throttle'' in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned ''The Driven Man'', a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang, Lancashire with an Austin Metro. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree. He also owns a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8, and a Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published ''Diaries'' this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8 Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls Royce to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."

One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."

He appeared in episode 4, season 17 of ''Top Gear'' in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd on the test track in 1"42.2, replacing John Bishop (1"42.8) as the leader of the board.

On 4 August 2011, Atkinson was involved in a single car collision in his McLaren F1 on the A605 at Haddon, Cambridgeshire. Atkinson reportedly lost control of the car which crashed into a tree and then a lampost before catching fire. Atkinson suffered only a minor injury to his shoulder. This was the second time that Atkinson had crashed his McLaren, the first time being in October 1999, in Lancashire, where he rear-ended a Rover Metro.

Television appearances

''Canned Laughter'' (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT

''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International

''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (1979–1982)

''Peter Cook & Co'' (1980)

''The Innes Book of Records'' (1980), guest appearance

''Blackadder'' as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder), Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II), Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III), Ebenezer Blackadder (''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'') & Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)

''Saturday Live'' as guest host (1986)

''Mr. Bean'' as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)

''Rowan Atkinson Live'' as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)

''Bernard and the Genie'' as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)

''Funny Business'' (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy

''A Bit Of Fry And Laurie'' (1992), guest appearance

''The Thin Blue Line'' as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)

''Blackadder: Back and Forth'' as Blackadder (2000)

''Mr. Bean (animated TV series)'' as Mr Bean, voice (2002)

The Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecasts, including appearing in:

* ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years'' as Edmund Blackadder (1988)

* ''Nosenight sketches'' (1989)

* ''Mr Bean's Red Nose Day'' as Mr Bean (1991)

* ''(I Wanna Be) Elected'' as Mr Bean (1992)

* ''Blind Date with Mr Bean'' as Mr Bean (1993)

* ''Torvill and Bean'' as Mr Bean (1995)

* ''Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death'' as The Doctor (1999)

* ''Popsters'' as Nasty Neville (2001)

* ''Lying to Michael Jackson'' as Martin Bashir (2003)

* ''Spider-Plant Man'' as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)

* ''Mr Bean's Wedding'' as Mr Bean (2007)

* ''The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief'' as Himself (2007)

''We Are Most Amused'' (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday

''Blackadder Rides Again'' as himself (2008)

Guest appearances

''Wogan'' (1988, 1991)

''Children in Need'' (1988), guest appearance as Mr E. Blackadder

''Noel's House Party'', guest appearance as Blackadder

''Going Live'', guest appearance as Mr Bean

''This Morning'' (1995), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''Big Breakfast''

''Parkinson'' (2003)

''Blue Peter'' (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''London Tonight'' (2005)

''BBC Breakfast'' (2007)

''Richard & Judy'' (2007)

''The Dame Edna Treatment'' (2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''Top Gear'' (2011)

Filmography

!Year ''The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979) ''Fundamental Frolics'' ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' ''Dead on Time (1983 film) ''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'' ''The Witches (1990 film) ''The Driven Man (1991) (TV) ''Hot Shots ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' ''Bean (1997 film) ''Maybe Baby (2000 film) ''Rat Race (2001 film) ''Scooby-Doo (film) ''Johnny English'' ''Keeping Mum'' ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' ''Johnny English Reborn''

|	Title	Role	Notes
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball'' ||	Various roles	Solo skits, plus with Monty Python
1981	|	Himself
1982	|	Himself & Various Roles
rowspan=2	1983	Dead on Time'' ||	Bernard Fripp
''Never Say Never Again''	Nigel Small-Fawcett
rowspan=2	1989	|	Dr. Schooner	Short Film
''The Tall Guy''	Ron Anderson
1990	The Witches'' ||	Mr. Stringer
1991	The Driven Man'' ||	Himself	TVAlso Writer
1993	Part Deux''	Dexter Hayman
rowspan=2	1994	|	Father Gerald
''The Lion King''	Zazu
1997	Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie'' ||	Mr. Bean	Also Writer/Executive Producer
2000	Maybe Baby'' ||	Mr. James
2001	Rat Race'' ||	Enrico Pollini
2002	Scooby-Doo'' ||	Emile Mondavarious
rowspan=2	2003	|	Johnny English
''Love Actually''	Rufus
2005	|	Reverend Walter Goodfellow
2007	|	Mr. Bean	Also Writer
2011	|	Johnny English	Also Executive Producer

Live comedy albums

''Live in Belfast'' (1980)

''Not Just a Pretty Face'' (1987)

Awards

Atkinson has won the following awards: Variety Club Award for BBC Personality of the Year – 1980 BAFTA Best Light Entertainment Performance – 1989

Whatsonstage Award for ''Oliver!'' – 2010

Nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for ''Oliver!'' – 2010

References

External links

Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Newcastle University Category:Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Car collectors Category:English comedians Category:English comedy writers Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Mr. Bean Category:Old St. Beghians Category:People from Consett Category:People from County Durham Category:People educated at the Chorister School, Durham

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Coordinates	38°18′07″N47°41′11″N
birth date	May 05, 1983
birth place	Jersey, Channel Islands
birthname	Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill
nickname	Henners, Hank Henners
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	2001 – present }}

Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill (born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He has appeared in the films ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' and ''Stardust'', and played the role of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, on the Showtime series ''The Tudors'', from 2007 until 2010. He has been cast as Superman in the 2013 film ''Man of Steel''.

Early life

Cavill was born on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, the fourth of five boys. His mother, Marianne, worked in a bank, and his father, Colin Cavill, was a stockbroker. He was educated at St. Michael's Preparatory School in Saint Saviour, Jersey before attending Stowe School, a boarding school in Buckinghamshire, England. He began acting in school plays during prep school, and has said that if he hadn't become an actor, he would have joined the army or gone to university to study ancient history, specifically Egyptology.

Career

Cavill had his first film role in Kevin Reynolds' 2002 adaptation ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. He went on to star in ''Laguna'' (2001), and afterwards appeared in BBC’s ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' (2002), the TV film ''Goodbye Mr. Chips'' (2002), and the TV series ''Midsomer Murders'' (2003). In 2003 he had a supporting role in ''I Capture the Castle'', followed by ''Red Riding Hood'' (2004), ''Hellraiser: Hellworld'' (2005), and ''Tristan & Isolde'' (2006). He had a minor role alongside Sienna Miller and Ben Barnes in Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of ''Stardust'' (2007).

From 2007 to 2010, Cavill had a leading role in Showtime's television series ''The Tudors'' as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The series was well-received: it was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2007 and won an Emmy in 2008. Cavill credits the show with bolstering his career: "It’s done the most for me to date. [ . . . ] Now that there's an audience somewhere in America that’s aware of who I am, I have more sell-ability, because of The Tudors." Entertainment Weekly named him the "Most Dashing Duke" and praised his work on ''The Tudors'' for displaying "charm, depth and a killer bod".

Cavill had been set to star as Superman in director McG’s 2004 film ''Superman: Flyby''. However, McG pulled out of the project and direction was taken over by director Bryan Singer, who recast Brandon Routh as the lead. Cavill was also the cause of a write-in effort from fans to see him cast as Cedric Diggory in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005). The role eventually went to Robert Pattinson. Stephenie Meyer, author of the ''Twilight'' series, was outspokenly in favor of Cavill playing the character of Edward Cullen in the ''Twilight'' film, calling him her "perfect Edward". By the time production of the film began, however, Cavill was too old to play the character, and again the role went to Robert Pattinson. In 2005, Cavill was a final contender for the role of James Bond in ''Casino Royale''. The producers and director Martin Campbell were torn between him and Daniel Craig; reportedly Campbell supported Cavill but the producers preferred an older Bond. Ultimately Craig landed the role. In their December 2005 issue, Empire magazine dubbed Cavill the "Unluckiest Man in Hollywood" for this series of near-misses. Despite reports that he was a contender for Batman in ''Batman Begins'', Cavill confirmed that he never auditioned for nor was offered the role.

In early 2008, Cavill became a model/spokesperson for Dunhill fragrances. The television ad featured a suited-up Cavill walking through the Union Jack flag, before mounting a helicopter. A second television ad featured Cavill driving a car through a deserted London at night, and meeting with a young woman. He starred in director Joel Schumacher's horror film ''Blood Creek'' (2008) and in 2009 he had a minor role in Woody Allen’s comedy film ''Whatever Works''.

Director Tarsem Singh cast Cavill in the lead role of Theseus in his mythological, big-budget special effects film ''Immortals'', to be released November 11, 2011. In 2011 Cavill will star alongside Bruce Willis in ''The Cold Light of Day''. On January 30, 2011, it was announced that Cavill had been cast in the role of Clark Kent/Superman in director Zack Snyder's ''Man of Steel''. Snyder called Cavill "the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield." Entertainment media applauded Henry Cavill on his road to success.

Personal life

On 3 May 2011, Cavill got engaged to his girlfriend, showjumper Ellen Whitaker.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" width="100%" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes |- || 2001 || ''Laguna'' || Thomas Aprea || Main Role |- | 2002 || ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' || Albert Mondego || Main Role |- | 2003 || ''I Capture the Castle'' || Stephen Colley || Main Role |- || 2005 || ''Hellraiser: Hellworld'' || Mike || Main Role |- || 2006 || ''Tristan + Isolde'' || Melot || Main Role |- | rowspan="2"| 2007 || ''Red Riding Hood'' || The Hunter || Main Role |- || ''Stardust'' || Humphrey || Minor Role |- | rowspan="2"| 2009 || ''Blood Creek'' || Evan Marshall || Main Role |- || ''Whatever Works'' || Randy James || Minor Role |- | 2011 || ''Immortals'' || Theseus || Main Role (post-production) |- | 2012 || ''The Cold Light of Day'' || Will Shaw || Main Role (post-production) |- || 2013 || ''Man of Steel'' || Clark Kent/Superman || Main Role (filming) |- |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | rowspan="2" | 2002 || ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' ||Chas Quilter || (2001 TV series) Episode: ''Well Schooled Murder'' |- | ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' || Soldier Colley || TV Movie (made for television) (STV) |- || 2003 || ''Midsomer Murders'' ||Simon Mayfield || (1997 TV series) Episode: ''The Green Man'' |- || 2007–2010 || ''The Tudors'' || Charles Brandon || Main Role (2007 TV series) |- |}

References

External links

Category:1983 births Category:English film actors Category:English male models Category:English television actors Category:Jersey actors Category:Living people Category:Old Stoics

bn:হেনরি কেভিল ca:Henry Cavill de:Henry Cavill es:Henry Cavill fr:Henry Cavill it:Henry Cavill hu:Henry Cavill ms:Henry Cavill nl:Henry Cavill ja:ヘンリー・カヴィル pl:Henry Cavill pt:Henry Cavill ro:Henry Cavill ru:Кэвелл, Генри fi:Henry Cavill sv:Henry Cavill tr:Henry Cavill

Coordinates	38°18′07″N47°41′11″N
Name	Chris Redfield
Firstgame	''Resident Evil''
Series	''Resident Evil''
Artist	Isao Ohishi
Voiceactor	Scott McCulloch (''RE'')Michael Filipowich (''C:V'')Joe Whyte (''REmake'')Roger Craig Smith (''RE5'', ''TDC'', ''RER'', ''MvC3'')
japanactor	Hiroki Tōchi (''MvC3'')
Liveactor	Wentworth Miller (''Afterlife'')Will Lupardus (viral series)
Motionactor	Reuben Langdon (''C:V'', ''RE5'') }}

is a fictional character from Capcom's ''Resident Evil'' series.

Chris is one of the two main protagonists in the first ''Resident Evil'' game, the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in ''Resident Evil Code: Veronica'', where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his younger sister, Claire. Chris returned again as the main protagonist in ''Resident Evil 5'', where he works alongside partner Sheva Alomar to search for his old partner and friend, Jill Valentine. Chris is also playable in ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles'', ''Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles'' and in the ''Resident Evil 2'' Battle game. He will be appearing with Jill in the next installment of the main series; ''Resident Evil Revelations''.

Creation and concept

Hideki Kamiya described Chris as a "blunt, tough-guy type", admitting that he was a fan of this archetype. For ''Resident Evil 5'', when asked, "Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker are stars of previous adventures. How do you go about remodeling a character already known to players and fans?" Production director Yasuhiro Anpo replied, "I tried my best to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time. Chris trained and got stronger, while Wesker got more wrinkles." ''The Art of Resident Evil 5'' confirmed that Chris' increased muscle mass was to show that he had trained heavily in order to fight Wesker bare-handed. Modeler Yosuke Yamagata added, "All the characters are very important for this series, and popular with fans. So we took care not to change their image from past games. It's a simple method, but we made a new design that retained their signature color — green for Chris, blue for Jill — to carry over the same look from the past. The facial structures are mainly based on the visuals of the GameCube version, and we added various details to these in order to develop a realistic structure." ''Resident Evil 5'' producer Jun Takeuchi explained that the series' fans "would really love" a video game featuring both Chris and Leon S. Kennedy as the protagonists due to their popularity, and at the same time, it would be "pretty dramatic" if the two characters never met when the series ended.

Chris was voiced by Michael Filipowich in ''Code: Veronica'', Joe Whyte in the 2002 remake of ''Resident Evil'' and by Roger Craig Smith in ''Resident Evil 5'', ''The Darkside Chronicles'', ''Revelations'' and ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3''. In ''Code: Veronica'' and ''Resident Evil 5'' he was motion captured by Reuben Langdon. He was portrayed by Wentworth Miller in ''Resident Evil: Afterlife''. and played by Will Lupardus in the ''Resident Evil 5'' viral advertising campaign.

Appearances

In video games

Chris Redfield first appeared in the original ''Resident Evil'' as a main protagonist is as one of two playable protagonists. In the game, he is a member of the special forces STARS Alpha team, sent to investigate the disappearance of Bravo team. The squad discovers the remains of Bravo team's helicopter, but soon encounter a pack of undead dogs. Chris, accompanied by Albert Wesker, Barry Burton and Jill Valentine, seek refuge in the nearby mansion, which is filled with deadly traps and horrific monsters. Chris' scenario is more challenging than Jill's, as he has a smaller carrying capacity, and lacks certain items, such as the lockpick and grenade launcher, but can take a lot more damage from enemies than Jill can. The original Japanese release of the game features a clip of the live-action character portraying him smoking a cigarette, which was removed in the overseas version of the game, but restored in the PC CD-ROM port.

Chris returns in ''Resident Evil Code: Veronica'' as the protagonist of the second half of the game, where he attempts to rescue his younger sister, Claire, from Rockfort Island and then a secret Umbrella Corporation facility in Antarctica. While there, he confronts Alexia Ashford, the creator of the T-Veronica virus, and Wesker, who had survived the destruction of the mansion.

Chris is the one of main characters of game the ''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles''. , in which he reunites with Jill Valentine. The two of them join a private biohazard containment unit. In 2003, they embark on a mission to destroy the Umbrella Corporation after hearing rumours of a new BOW being developed, resulting in an attack on an Umbrella facility located in the Caucasus region.

Chris is the main protagonist in ''Resident Evil 5'', where he is a founding member of the UN paramilitary group Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). In the game, he is investigating a terrorist threat in Kijuju, Africa while also looking for Jill, who had been presumed dead following a previous encounter with Albert Wesker. Accompanying him is new partner Sheva Alomar.

Chris makes an appearance in ''Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles'', where he is a playable character in "Game of Oblivion" scenario's final chapter (a re-imagining of ''Code: Veronica''). He is also available in the Extreme Battle mode in ''Resident Evil 2''.

He also appears in the crossover fighting game ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds'' as a playable character. The first trailer shows him fighting The Incredible Hulk.

Chris is one of the eight playable characters in ''Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D'', and will return in the latest installment of the main series, ''Resident Evil Revelations'', with Jill Valentine.

In other media

Chris appears in the 2010 live-action film ''Resident Evil: Afterlife'', played by Wentworth Miller. He is imprisoned in a maximum security cell by prisoners as a cruel joke after his unit's attempt to control the T-virus in Los Angeles goes haywire. The survivors who find him believe him to be a prisoner. He is reunited with his sister Claire, who cannot remember him due to memory damage caused by an Umbrella mind-control device. He, Alice, and Claire defeat Albert Wesker and rescue imprisoned survivors being used for Umbrella's experiments.

During the release of the Japanese Sega Saturn version of the original game, Capcom published a promotional sourcebook titled ''The True Story Behind Biohazard'' as a pre-order giveaway. The book contains an original short story titled ''Biohazard: The Beginning'' by Hiroyuku Ariga. The story depicts the events prior to the first game and fleshes out his character, describing the deaths of his parents in a car accident and his service in the USAF.

Reception

The character of Chris Redfield has been popular within critics. GameZone ranked him fourth on a list of "The Top Five Gaming Gods of 2009," in response to his role across the series, giving high praise. In March 2009, GameTrailers uploaded a video focusing on the character's appearances across the series titled "Chris Redfield Character Evolution". Chris has often been compared with the other male ''Resdident Evil'' character Leon S. Kennedy, with both of them being labelled as the male protagonists from the ''Resident Evil'' series. Gameplanet's Aylon Herbet stated that if both Leon and Chris would share protagonism on an upcoming ''Resident Evil'' it would be "awesome", also sharing comments that both are the main protagonists from the series. ''Game Informer'' explored the meaning of Chris Redfield's name in their section of "Hello my name is: Exploring the Meaning of Your Favorite Character's Name", wondering what his first name stands for. GamesRadar placed his team up with Sheva in their article "Gaming's most violent double acts" due to their multiple actions within ''Resident Evil 5''. On the other hand, Chris was listed number five in IGN's article "Top 10 Most Overrated Videogame Characters" as Leon was favored over him by the author due to their abilities. Moreover, he was also in UGO.com's "Top 10 Out of Luck Video Game Characters" that cited his failures across the series.

His new design in the ''Resident Evil 5'' has also received mixed comments by critics. When he was first announced to be in the game, GameSpy stated that the new design appeared to be "a cross between Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman". Examiner.com ranked Chris second on a list of the "Top 7 Ridiculously Large Biceps in Gaming", noticing a change from "any other scrawny punk in an officer's uniform" to his current one, stating to could be the result of PowerBars and steroids and as a way to balance Leon Kennedy's appearance from ''Resident Evil 4''. GamesRadar placed both his ''Code Veronica'' and ''Resident Evil 5'' designs in their article "Which Resident Evil hero is best dressed for a zombie apocalypse?", finding the latter to have better chances to survive to a zombie attack. Alexander Sliwinski from Joystiq took a more humorous approach at his appearance, commenting that possibly during ''Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles'' the character started his "steroid abuse."

References

Category:Fictional air force personnel Category:Fictional American people Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1996 Category:Fictional police officers Category:Fictional United Nations personnel Category:Horror film characters Category:Male video game characters Category:Resident Evil characters

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