Jimmy Akingbola
British-Nigerian TV, theatre and film actor
Working in a warehouse, packing frozen meat. It was a nightmare: I hate the cold and it was very tough.
What is the worst job you have done?
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's long-running Q&A repeatedly asks this standing question, with minor tense variation.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Cleaning toilets in a hotel in Croydon when I was 16. A guest once gave me a half-eaten bag of pistachios as a tip, so there were perks.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 October 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
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Sara Pascoe
English comedian, presenter, writer
Cleaning toilets at McDonald’s when I was 16.
Sofia Helin
Swedish actress
Acting, when you don’t want to do it or you disagree with everything, is almost like having sex with someone you don’t like. I had one experience like that on stage, in a terrible version of The Cherry Orchard. I put on a wig, dark-coloured contacts and just hoped no one would recognise me.
Working in farming in Somerset at 18, there were elements that were awful, and they were all really edifying. I mean, feeding chickens in sleet was hard work but I am so glad I did it.
More from Sue Perkins
View profile →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.
Not accepting every dare.
In my 20s, touring small arts centres with my best mate, performing sketch comedy to a handful of people.
An eye surgeon. I had an operation on my cornea when I was little, and remember being deeply enamoured with the team who looked after me. Subsequently, I was very disappointed to learn that a degree of scientific aptitude was required for the job, which ruled me out.
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