IL
I always wanted to play tennis. Otherwise, I always thought it would be fun to do something in mathematics or physics.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 July 2017 source ↗
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.
Others on this question
View all 197 →
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.
Shirley Ballas
English ballroom dancer
Dancing was in my bones from when I started ballet at two.
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Actor and writer
An actress. My family thought it was ridiculous, it was like saying you wanted to be an astronaut.
Rick Astley
Singer, songwriter and radio presenter
When I was about 14 and got my first drum kit, I wanted to be a drummer in a band like the Police.
More from Ivan Lendl
View profile →As a guy who had fun.
People who have done really well in their sports: in tennis, Steffi Graf; in ice hockey, Wayne Gretzky.
I am not thinking about dying yet.
Plenty of matches got away, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so why worry?
More on identity & self
- What do you fear most? 256 answers
- Which trait in yourself do you like least? 239 answers
- What most recently moved you to tears? 192 answers
- What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? 158 answers
- How would you sum yourself up in three words? 114 answers
- What fills you with the most pride? 103 answers
Also answered this
Mo Farah, Chris Hoy, Kevin Pietersen, Gareth Bale, Yogi Berra, Serena Williams
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject