Marina Abramović
Performance artist
Last year when I had a pulmonary embolism – it was a very scary time.
How close have you come to death?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
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.
In 1995, I discovered I had two brain tumours. The process of having them removed went on for about three years. It was a long and drawn-out time, wondering whether or not I was going to die.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 July 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 214 →
Carlos Acosta
Cuban ballet dancer
In 1989, in Cuba, about to board a plane for Milan, where I was going to school for a year. The visa didn’t arrive in time, so I couldn’t board. The plane crashed and people died.
Madhur Jaffrey
Actress, cook, and TV host
It’s nearly happened twice, each time after an operation.
Geoffrey Rush
Australian actor
A panic attack on stage during The Importance Of Being Earnest. Well, it felt like death.
More from Martin Kemp
View profile →The births of my children, Harley Moon (28) and Roman (25).
Buzz Aldrin. I met him about 10 years ago and all I could do was look at his feet. What greater thing can you do than walk on the moon?
Gary and I worked in a greengrocer’s on Saturdays and in the holidays. One of my jobs was cooking beetroot – it used to make me gag.
I cry all the time. The last time was at the end of Paddington 2. Shirlie was laughing her head off.
I wanted to play for Arsenal. When I have a kick-around with my boy, I still feel as if someone’s going to spot me.
More on death & what remains
- What would you like to be remembered for? 228 answers
- What song would you like played at your funeral? 179 answers
- What happens when we die? 56 answers
- If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing? 54 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 53 answers
- How would you like to die? 46 answers
Also answered this
Andy Serkis, Felicity Jones, Julian Clary, Nicola Walker, Julian Sands, Gemma Whelan
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All death & what remains questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject