Omid Djalili
British stand-up comedian and actor
Sending a text meant for my wife to Dara O'Briain by mistake, revealing myself to be a control freak.
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim recurring question in The Guardian's Q&A series.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Fifteen years ago, I totally forgot my lines on stage and was mortified. We skipped two pages of dialogue and took three minutes off the play – to the delight of the audience!
The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 August 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 126 →Forty-eight hours after giving birth, I sent a picture that someone had sent me of their baby to a WhatsApp group, thinking it was my son (they kind of looked similar). Mortifying.
Having somebody pull my judo trousers down at a competition when I was seven. And finding I wasn’t wearing any pants.
Douglas Stuart
Scottish fashion designer and novelist
At a fashion show after-party in New York in 2004, my friend dared me to push her into the pool. I did, and you’ve never heard laughter die so quickly.
More from Stockard Channing
View profile →Climate change.
Don’t answer every question you’re asked.
A dress designer.
“Let’s face it, you’re not Ingrid Bergman.” I was 19 and he was a potential boyfriend. My only thought at the time was: “I’m not?”
Not keeping off the last 5lbs.
At the election of Joe Biden, thinking we were out of the woods. Wrong.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 374 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 212 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 211 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 130 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 82 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 41 answers
Also answered this
Shaznay Lewis, Sofia Coppola, Alex Hassell, Neil Gaiman, Rita Wilson, Clive Myrie
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- All failure & regret questions
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