James Dyson: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

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 James Dyson said elsewhere, not written here

I had no idea whatsoever, and nor did anyone else. I thought I’d go to art school and see whether I liked it – and of course I did, and stayed.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 December 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Philippa Dunne

An actor. I watched a lot of TV because we lived in the countryside and the weather was so bad.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗

@aliabbasi builder

A pilot

Sue Perkins British actress, singer, writer and comedian

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.

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

Jim Kerr Scottish singer and songwriter

In the Beatles.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 October 2022 source ↗