Mr Bean stumbles into role as Parisian sleuth Maigret He is renowned worldwide for playing the loveable buffoon Mr Bean, who stumbles his way through life. However, Rowan Atkinson is going in a different direction for his next project, starring in a remake of the French detective series Maigret. The comedian and screenwriter will play the pipe-smoking Parisian detective Jules Maigret in two feature-length episodes for ITV based on the novels by Georges Simenon. “I have been a devourer of the Maigret novels for many years and I’m very much looking forward to playing such an intriguing character at work in Paris during a fascinating period in its history,” Atkinson said. Set in the 1950s, the first of the two
120-minute films, Maigret Sets A Trap, will go into production in September. It is adapted from Maigret Tend Un Piège. The second film, Maigret’s Dead Man, is based on Maigret Et Son Mort. Simenon, who died in 1989, wrote 75 Maigret novels, the first published in 1931. The best-known portrayal was by Rupert Davies in the BBC series in the 1960s. Sir Michael Gambon and Richard Harris have also taken on the role. Simenon’s son, John, who will be an executive producer, said: “Maigret has been part of our family for almost nine decades, and we are bringing together one of the best-known characters in world literature with one of the greatest international stars.” He said his father would have approved of the choice.