- 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".
- He disliked Blackadder (1982). So did Michael Grade, who became Controller of BBC One in 1984 and nearly cancelled further series.
- His education: Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK (electrical engineering); Oxford University, Oxford, UK (electrical engineering).
- He owns various fast cars (Aston Martin Vantages, etc.).
- He owns a Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, which he used in the film Johnny English (2003).
- He has an HGV license (Heavy Goods Vehicle - the old legal term in the United Kingdom for goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight).
- He once crashed his McLaren F1, a supercar valued at more than $1,000,000, into the back of a stationary Mini Metro, valued at around $600. The damage was not severe.
- He publicly opposed the British Labour government's plans in 2004 to introduce new legislation on incitement to religious hatred, arguing that it would undermine free speech and thought (even citing the possible development of mind-reading technology), and that such measures would make political satire - which he considers seminal in a democracy - unworkable.
- He is the father of a son, Benjamin Alexander Sebastian Atkinson (born 1993) and a daughter, Lily Grace Atkinson (aka Lily Atkinson) (born 1995), with his ex-wife Sunetra Sastry.
- He writes articles for CAR (a British car magazine).
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Drama and to charity.
- He's a partner in the production company Tiger Aspect.
- He is the only actor to appear in every episode of Blackadder, Tony Robinson did not appear in the pilot.
- He attended Catherine Princess of Wales and Prince William of Wales's wedding.
- On stage he took the lead in 'The Nerd' at London's Aldwych Theatre in 1985 and the following year a sell out one man show in the West End which transferred to Broadway then a tour to Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.
- He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1982 for the 1981 season.
- He was one of the guests at King Charles III' and Queen Camilla' wedding.
- He attended Cathedral Chorister School, Durham. So did British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was two years above him.
- He races (and also crashes) his Aston Martins in the Aston Martins Owners club series.
- He is a big car fan, some of the cars he has owned include: McLaren F1 GTR, Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz 500E, Bentley mulsanne, Honda civic hybrid, Lancia delta intergrale, Aston Martin V8 zagato, Aston Martin DB2, Honda Acura NSX, BMW 328, Ford falcon.
- In 2002 he was involved in the creation and production of the Mr Bean animated series.
- He had to pull out of his role in a West End production of Oliver in April 2009 due to hernia surgery.
- On August 4, 2011 he was admitted to Peterborough City Hospital after crashing his McLaren Formula1 sports car. He suffered a light injury on his shoulder.
- His grand father once owned the Theatre Royal in North Shields,.
- Along with Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny, he is one of only three actors to appear in all four "Blackadder" series: Blackadder (1982), Blackadder II (1986), Blackadder the Third (1987) and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989).
- Three of his grandparents were all born in Durham. His paternal grandparents were Edward Atkinson, of Spennymoor, and Edith Gertrude Browell, of Crookhall. His maternal grandfather was Frank Bainbridge, of Hartlepool, while his maternal grandmother Ella Schofield, came from Grosmont in North Yorkshire.
- One of his idols is Jacques Tati.
- His cousin's son is Swedish actor Nick Atkinson.
- Father of a daughter named Isla May (b. December 2017) with partner Louise Ford.
- He was educated at St Bees School, Cumbria 1968- 72 Newcastle University 1972 -75 Bsc and Oxford University 1975 =78, Msc.
- Educated at St Bedes, Cumbria.
- Brought up in Consett and Stocksfield in County Durham.
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