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.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I had no idea. When I was a week away from leaving school, a teacher said, “We’ve been talking in the staffroom and we all think you should be an actor.” I thought, “That’s exactly what I want.” The rest is history.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 November 2019 source ↗
A comedian or rapper. You can tell by the way I’m dressed that I’m a frustrated rapper.
Donny Osmond’s wife. Still do.
Archaeologist, pop star, store cashier.
An actor or stuntman: I loved Lee Majors in The Fall Guy.
I’ve helped create a path for young black actors. When I go to swanky Hollywood dos, it’s great to see more and more young black British faces. I can remember a time when I was the only one there.
I was a bailiff for half a morning. I couldn’t stand it.
After my documentary aired. I suddenly had a bit of panic, because it’s very personal. I couldn’t watch it on the night, I was so scared. The next day people were walking up to me on the street and telling me their life story. It was extraordinary.
In New York, I once went shopping and spent something like $7,000 on a couple of shirts, trousers and a jacket. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was ridiculous.
I would have had a bit more belief in myself: I would have reached for America sooner.
My first girlfriend when I left drama school. I was a bit of tart.
Jessica Brown Findlay, Billy Porter, Hayley Atwell, Brendan Gleeson, Harriet Walter, Felicity Jones
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