James Dyson: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

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 James Dyson said elsewhere, not written here

I had no idea whatsoever, and nor did anyone else. I thought I’d go to art school and see whether I liked it – and of course I did, and stayed.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 December 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Shirley MacLaine American actress and author

At three, I knew I was too tall to be a ballerina, so that wasn’t going to happen.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 July 2017 source ↗

Adrian Edmondson English actor, comedian, musician and writer

I only ever wanted to be an actor or a rock star. I was suspended from school in the sixth form and allowed back only when I promised to join the army. But I lied.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 July 2018 source ↗

Robert Peston British journalist

Prime minister and brain surgeon.

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

Andrew Ridgeley

That rather assumes I have grown up.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 December 2024 source ↗

More from James Dyson

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Question What do you consider your greatest achievement? Craft & work

Creating jobs and opportunities for thousands of people.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 December 2021 source ↗

Question What most recently made you cry? Identity & self

Very recently, when a graduate at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology gave the most brilliant speech on behalf of the students at our first graduation.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 December 2021 source ↗