James McAvoy
Scottish actor
When I was 15 or 16 - I slept really well then. Now I sleep on a bed of anxiety-tipped nails.
When were you happiest?
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In the hospital after my C-section, hanging out with my new baby, feeling very, very happy and grateful.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 April 2021 source ↗
Others on this question
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Zoë Heller
English journalist and novelist
Sending off the final draft of my latest novel.
Richard Branson
English business magnate
The births of my kids and my wedding spring to mind.
Douglas Stuart
Scottish fashion designer and novelist
The summer of 1997. My husband, who is an American, gave up everything to come and live with me in Edinburgh when we were students, and we were so skint but we had so much fun.
More from Joss Stone
View profile →Maybe the night we drove a Hummer in Kabul and went to a cafe that Osama bin Laden supposedly used to frequent.
As somebody who brought joy to people.
Having my family in closer proximity, but that’s what comes with living in another country.
A veterinarian, but I decided against it because it required too many years of schooling; I wasn’t great at school.
It’s all a learning experience, even if it’s a shit time.
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Martin Clunes, Anna Friel, Charles Dance, Pamela Anderson, Craig Revel Horwood, Anthony Hopkins
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