Andrea Bocelli: As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? — FLAPSS

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.

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AB

Andrea Bocelli

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

A singer. I wanted to live off music ever since I was a child – a wish that came true when I was over 35 years old.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Others on this question

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Jenna Coleman English actress

I told my mum I wanted to be a swan.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 February 2019 source ↗

Robert Peston British journalist

Prime minister and brain surgeon.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 June 2018 source ↗

A drummer in a famous band or an astronaut.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 August 2025 source ↗

Jim Kerr Scottish singer and songwriter

In the Beatles.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 October 2022 source ↗

More from Andrea Bocelli

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Question What do you believe happens when we die? Death & what remains

Earthly life is merely the infancy of our soul. What comes after physical death is, I imagine, like returning home.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

The many nuns and priests who often work in the shadows, dedicating their lives to the service of others.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Question How would you want people to remember you? Death & what remains

As a man who tried to respect everyone, treating them with a smile and with due regard, despite the limitations of being human.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Question How close have you come to dying? Death & what remains

As a young man I had a car accident on a foggy night that left the vehicle looking like a squashed box, even though, by some miracle, I walked away unscathed.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

When each of my three children was born.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

I fear the arrogance we are all at risk of, the pride that pushes us to put “I” in place of “God”. More prosaically, I fear physical pain because it risks stripping us of our dignity.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2024 source ↗

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