A missionary in Africa – I think that was Sunday school-based.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
My brother Joe, he’s nine years older than me.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 May 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
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Hayley Squires
English actress and playwright
I wanted my own ice-cream van and to be a lollipop lady.
First, I wanted to be a historian, then a drummer, and after that I just wanted to be employed. And I still do.
I remember really wanting to go into space. I liked the idea of flying.
More from Alex Hassell
View profile →To keep trying to listen to yourself.
Careless cruelty.
On one of my first jobs, Cold Mountain, I got a wasp in my ear in front of Jude Law. He couldn’t see the wasp so just saw me freak out.
Driven, sensitive and playful.
As someone with integrity.
Obsequiousness.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Jessica Brown Findlay, Mark Bonnar, Billy Porter, Erin Doherty, Winston Churchill, Sharleen Spiteri
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