About ‘Crash Course’ Star Richard Hammond

Celebrity Q&A
on December 4, 2012
richard-hammond-crash-course-bbc
https://americanprofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/richard-hammond-crash-course-bbc-150x150.jpg

Was Richard Hammond a good student in school? He seems to pick up things quickly on “Crash Course.”—Henry Richardson, San Antonio, Texas

Hammond, 42, says that while he is a quick learner, he only acquires the broad strokes of all the different skills he tries his hand at—like being a stuntman, or a standup comedian, or a snake wrangler—but he doesn’t get all the fine details down.

“The idea of a ‘Crash Course’ rather suits me because you can go in quickly, learn the broad strokes and then when it gets really technical and you’ve got to actually apply yourself to become good at something, I’m long gone,” says the British journalist, who is a bit of an adrenaline junky.

“I like to do exciting things,” he admits. “I think we all do in our own ways—it’s just that excitement comes in different forms. It might be flying a stunt helicopter. It might be doing a jigsaw puzzle. But we all get our own hits however we get them.”

Hammond adds that while some might label him a thrill seeker, he actually considers himself to be cautious because he only takes well-calculated risks. He says, “I don’t want to risk throwing my life away for work or for anything else.”

With everything he has experienced, there are still loads more things on Hammond’s bucket list, including playing a big arena in a band, mastering flying fixed-winged aircraft—he flies helicopters—and learning about the financial world.

“There’s an awful lot of stuff yet to do. I haven’t finished,” says the star of the BBC America series.

Found in: Celebrity Q&A