Jeremy Deller: How close have you come to dying?

The question

How close have you come to dying?

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.

Jeremy Deller

English artist

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Three squaddies on a train in 1995.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 June 2020 source ↗

Others on this question

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Andrea Bocelli

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 ↗

Yann Tiersen Pianist, composer

Yes! With my fiancée about two years ago, we were biking in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park in California and we were stalked by a mountain lion for hours… It really changed my perception! But you know, they’re peaceful cats, there wasn’t any anger or aggression — that’s just the way it is in nature. It’s good sometimes to realize you can die! The experience made me realize that you have to know where you are, and know that the place you’re in is alive.

Recorded The Talks, 6 May 2016 source ↗

Bradley Wiggins British former professional road and track racing cyclist

I had quite a chequered childhood. I had a knife put to my throat once when I was a kid, which was very scary.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Sue Perkins British actress, singer, writer and comedian

Anna dared me to jump off a cliff in Menorca on holiday a couple of years ago. I did. I fell 30m through the air, hit the water at an odd angle and shattered my coccyx.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 October 2018 source ↗