Walking on a high wire is inherently dangerous, but you’ve said that you prepare so much that death is not a risk.

No, it’s not. I think this is very wrong to put your life in danger or to gamble with your life. I cannot do the first step not being absolutely sure that I will successfully perform the last.

That’s from a Jessica Gross interview with Philippe Petit, the tight rope walker who was the subject of Man on Wire.

Relatively speaking, the risk assumed by Petit isn’t any greater than the risk you or I assume when crossing a busy street. The thrill is in the fact that for regular people, doing what Petit does would be impossibly risky. Preparation is everything.