When I Grow Up...

Baseball Player

George wanted to be a professional baseball player when he was a boy and even tried out for the US team Cincinnati Reds when he was 16.

Sadly for George it wasn't meant to be but lucky for me I got to see him on my screen in all manner of uniforms.

Funeral Director

"When I was younger, I went to a funeral, and I didn't think it was enough of a celebration of the life of the person. I thought I could do better. I wanted to study, so I got a home course when I was about 14. I did a mail-order degree."

Journalist

"My family seemed keen for me to be a journalist, and I went along with it for a while. I thought that maybe being a journalist would be a good and interesting life. I was pretty good at English."

Mounted Policeman

Ryan always planned to follow in his father's footsteps as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"I would probably have been one too, if it wasn't for this job. Being a Mountie is actually a dirtier, rougher, and much more difficult job than you'd think."

Fire Engine

"My mum says that when I was little I went up to her and announced, 'When I grow up I want to be a fire engine.' I still do."

Instead he hosts The US X Factor.

Cleaner

Adele told BBC Radio 1 she feels right at home with a mop and bucket: "If I weren't singing I'd be a cleaner, I love a clean."

Action Hero

"I wanted to be Indiana Jones."

Rock Star

"I really wanted to be a rock star. I still play guitar. I started doing quite well, but it was not happening quickly enough, so I became an actor instead."

Nun

It's hard to believe but Anne had dreams of being a nun and only changed her mind when her brother came out.

She said: "I was raised Catholic. When I was 11, I felt like I got a calling from God to be a nun. But when I was about 15, I realised my older brother was gay, and I couldn't support a religion that didn't support my brother."

And she wasn't the only one...

Nun

"For a while there I wanted to be a nun. Well, that was until my sister told me that they don't get paid. Then I went off the idea really quickly."

Priest

Being one of the highest paid actors around, it's clear Tom made the right career choice. But he originally wanted to be a priest and even spent a year at a Franciscan seminary.

"I looked at the priesthood and said, 'Listen, this is what I'm going to do.' I was interested in spirituality and the virtues of that."

Priest

"I was going to be a priest when I was 16. I was brought up a Catholic and wanted to do something worthwhile, such as be a missionary. But I realised there were far easier ways to explore the world. And I discovered girls..."

Who knew these celebs were such saintly folk?

Policeman

"A long time ago, I wanted to be a policeman, when I was younger. I soon learned that probably wasn't a good idea."

Rapper

"I used to want to be a rapper when I was, like, 14."

Well, I'm glad he turned to acting instead so I get to see him in all his Twilight glory.

Micro-Surgeon

"My dream would be to become a micro-surgeon because those surgeries, with the intense focus and detail you can't imagine, completely fascinate me."

Crime Scene Investigator

Kim's dream occupation couldn't be further from what she does now - she wanted to be a forensics expert.

"If I didn't do what I do then I would be a crime scene investigator or if not a make-up artist... I find all that crime scene thing fascinating. Or maybe I could be a make-up artist for crime scene investigators!"

Forensic Detective

"I'd have loved to have gone into forensic detective work. I find it fascinating, like which way blood is spattered and stuff."

Murder Detective

"To be able to get in there and put all the pieces together and figure it out, you're speaking for the dead. You're the voice that's going to help these people."

Playing a homicide detective on the US show Rizzoli & Isles has obviously given actress Angie a taste of her dream career.

PE Teacher

"I would have been a teacher. I wanted to be a PE teacher. I was going to do a diploma in Loughborough."

PE Teacher/Personal Trainer

Eva did a degree in Kinesiology and was going to be a PE teacher or personal trainer, until she entered a talent contest and thought she'd try Hollywood instead.

Good choice.

Lawyer

It seems Matthew isn't just a pretty face - he had dreams of becoming a lawyer before changing to acting. Some might say there's not a lot of difference, mind...

Doctor

"I think I would be a doctor. I think I would enjoy that. My mother was a psychiatrist. I could imagine doing that as well."

Psychiatrist

"I don't think I could be anything but an actress, but if I were, I'd be a psychiatrist. I think people are so interesting and I think their issues are so much a part of what makes people who they are. I know I have my issues, for sure!"

Psychologist

"For a while I thought about studying medicine at school because I've always been interested in how peoples' minds work. But I'm able to explore some of that as an actor and ultimately I think it seems more interesting."

Vet

"I actually wanted to be a vet. I was fascinated by animals from an early age, and I thought being a vet would be great because I could help them get better when they were ill."

Sweet.

Vet

Danielle's aspirations gave way to a career as a model.

Vet

The realities of being a vet were too much for Jim.

He says: "I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid. But I found out about the whole euthanasia thing and I said, 'I can't commit to that, sorry!'"

Vet

And Paris shared Jim's concerns...

"I first wanted to be a veterinarian. And then I realised you had to give them shots to put them to sleep, so I decided I'd just buy a bunch of animals and have them in my house instead."

That explains a lot.

Ballerina

It seems Zoe was no different from lots of other little girls - the Blue Peter presenter had dreams of becoming a ballerina.

Nail Technician

"When I was younger, I was always obsessed with nails. It kind of relaxes me."

And the tennis star is on the road to realising her childhood dream, as she's enrolled on a beauty course: "No one believed me, and I'm like 'Listen - I'm going to nail school.'" Revealing her secret on the Oprah show, she even treated the famous host to a pedicure.

Sports Star

"My mom went to college on a full scholarship for tennis, my dad played minor-league baseball and my grandfather was a quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. So before I started acting the plan for me was to be a tennis player."

Judging by this super-cute snap of her on the football field, it seems that I very nearly missed out on seeing Dakota on the big screen.

Hockey Player

"I wanted so bad to be a hockey player and the truth is that I sucked. If I was any good at hockey, I probably wouldn't be singing right now. I'd probably be sitting out the season."

Missionary

"I was studying international relations because I wanted to be a missionary."

Paleontologist

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I've been fortunate enough to make a living at acting - and I love acting but it can be a small world if that's all you're interested in. I was blessed with - or cursed with - a voracious curiosity about things."

Nurse

"I wanted to be a nurse, because I had my appendix out when I was young and the nurses were so nice."

Librarian

"I was one of those children that if you asked me what I wanted to be I would have told you something different everyday, like a librarian, an author, or a doctor."

Lads' Mag Writer

"I always read Loaded. I bought the first ever one. I asked for a job, too. I used to ring up the office all the time saying, 'You said you'd review it, you said you would - now I'm the laughing stock. Gis' a job.'"

McDonald's Employee

"When I was a kid, the job I wanted was to work at McDonald's. I really wanted to work in the golden arches."