I have a deep-rooted fear of being in trouble. I once tried to sneak into the back of a photography exhibition with my husband when one of our kids was in a pushchair. We’d arrived late and he suggested we go in through the gift shop and see the last room. As we poked our heads round the door, the security guard noticed us. I shouted, “That man’s trying to get in!”, then ran away.
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
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What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
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.
When I was 19 I worked at a gay bar while I was at drama school in London. One of the guys I worked with was Glaswegian and I learned the dialect from him. The acting teacher at the school said, “Liev, you’ve got the region but you’ve missed the character entirely” because I played Jimmy Boyle in a very camp Glaswegian accent.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 September 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →
Richard Coles
British musician, writer, presenter and priest
My paso doble on Strictly Come Dancing would be hard to beat.
Minnie Driver
British and American actress
When I was starting out, in the early 90s, I had to fake an orgasm in a room full of male ad execs at an audition for a chocolate bar ad. It was grim.
If you’re a mother, you are embarrassing. Is that not just the way?
More from Liev Schreiber
View profile →A car accident in British Columbia 35-40 years ago. I was driving too quickly on a dirt road and lost control of the car, and it went off a cliff and got stuck in some treetops. We were not at all hurt; we actually just climbed out.
I thought I’d be smarter by now.
An elevator operator.
My father – I think he doubted our closeness.
Watching the Olympics.
Acting – it’s also the best, though.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 63 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
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