Father John Misty: 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 Father John Misty said elsewhere, not written here

A mutant turtle ninja.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 July 2022 source ↗

Others on this question

Composer, pirate, scientist, philosopher.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 July 2026 source ↗

Martin Kemp English musician and actor

I wanted to play for Arsenal. When I have a kick-around with my boy, I still feel as if someone’s going to spot me.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 July 2018 source ↗

A fighter pilot.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 March 2026 source ↗

Warwick Davis English actor

I didn’t have a chance to want to be anything – I became an actor at 11.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 November 2017 source ↗

Grace Zabriskie – her style; her woodworking.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 July 2022 source ↗

Whenever it was, it’s likely I was actually miserable, destitute and alone.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 July 2022 source ↗

I bore myself constantly.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 July 2022 source ↗

Getting thrown down a well.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 July 2022 source ↗

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