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 Romesh Ranganathan said elsewhere, not written here
A comedian or rapper. You can tell by the way I’m dressed that I’m a frustrated rapper.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 August 2024 source ↗

Others on this question

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Fearne Cotton
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 ↗
Yvon Chouinard Founder of Patagonia
I wanted to be a fur trapper. No young kid dreams of becoming a businessman.
Recorded Robin Barton, profile, The Observer, 25 February 2007 source ↗
Andrew O'Hagan Scottish author
Most days, I wanted to be Albrecht in the classical ballet Giselle, dancing until I dropped dead.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 July 2026 source ↗

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