What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Harriet Walter said elsewhere, not written here
An actor. When I was really young, I wanted to be a fishmonger’s wife.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 December 2017 source ↗

Others on this question

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Dan Stevens English actor
Jobs that I saw on television, until I realised they were all played by actors – then I wanted to be an actor.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 November 2017 source ↗
An air steward, because I loved airports. I wrote a letter to British Airways when I was seven and I’ve got the reply in the loft, which says, “You’re a bit young at seven but do stay in touch.” I was that kind of kid who was eager to start the ball rolling.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 March 2026 source ↗
Julian Lloyd Webber British cellist and conductor
A detective, a train driver on the underground and Leyton Orient’s centre forward.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 July 2023 source ↗

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Sue Perkins, Patricia Hodge, Martin Kemp, Charlotte Church, Fay Ripley, Dan Stevens

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