The question
As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself?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.
Sounds cliched, but I always wanted to be an actor.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 March 2025 source ↗
Exactly what I am now.
Jobs that I saw on television, until I realised they were all played by actors – then I wanted to be an actor.
An actor. Then I grew out of that and became one by default. Or sort of one: “Not really an actor”, said Michael Billington.
Many things. I remember wanting to be a vet, a ballet dancer and a hairdresser.
My sister. She is the most loving, positive and generous person I know.
I overthink everything.
Offer kindness always.
Having music for limbs.
I am genuinely buzzed about it! I think we just keep getting better, smarter, wiser, truer, happier.
Regrets. That’s no way to live.
Richard Coles, Olivia Williams, Rosanna Arquette, Niamh Cusack, Adrian Edmondson, Anna Paquin
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