A blood clot in my artery when I was 23.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 April 2026 source ↗
How close have you come to death?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
At 20, I fell from a fourth-floor window and broke my back. For four days they said I’d never walk again, but I had a miraculous recovery.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 March 2021 source ↗
Others on this question
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Craig David
British singer
I was caught by a wave while swimming at night with friends in Southampton. That shook me.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 November 2016 source ↗
Rose McGowan
American actress and activist
Falling down a mine shaft in New Mexico while filming.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 December 2018 source ↗
Cory Taylor
Novelist and screenwriter
How many times I could have died before now, and in how many different ways. And yet I came close only once: a speeding sedan ran a red light, hit three other vehicles, and jack-knifed into my rear wheel split second after I’d stepped out of my parked car. A bystander described the scene to me later. “You were a millimetre away from losing your legs,” he said.
Recorded Edited extract from Dying: A Memoir, Text Publishing, The Guardian, 17 May 2016 source ↗
More from Orlando Bloom
View profile →When I was about to embark on filming The Lord Of The Rings, prior to any kind of fame or notoriety, full of hope and dreams, and excitement of the adventures ahead.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 March 2021 source ↗
An actor or stuntman: I loved Lee Majors in The Fall Guy.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 March 2021 source ↗
I lost my poodle, Mighty. He was out of my sight for just seven minutes; he went out on an adventure and didn’t come back, and was taken by a coyote, I think. It was awful, really painful; he taught me about love and loyalty, and how the connection between living beings can be.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 March 2021 source ↗
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