Julia Ormond
English actress
I wouldn’t have hurt as many people, and I would have thought more before speaking.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
On BBC Breakfast, I accidentally said “fuck” on air. My microphone had been turned on when I wasn’t in the room. It went out across the telly and they had to apologise.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 November 2020 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 203 →
Rita Ora
British singer-songwriter
That I didn’t think I knew everything.
Emma Bunton
British singer
I would edit my worry, because I suffer from anxiety, which ruins some moments.
Felicity Jones
British actress
I wouldn’t change anything. Life is what it is, you just have to get on with it.
More from Steph McGovern
View profile →I used to be an ear-piercing specialist when I was 16, and had to pierce babies’ ears. It was horrendous. I had to practise on my friends – several have misplaced piercings.
As a good friend.
At the beginning of lockdown; it was just me and my new baby and my partner in the house. It was lovely.
A poster for The Godfather, my favourite film, signed by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and everyone. I got drunk at a children’s charity auction and started buying everything!
Some famous people. I am not giving you names.
For Good, from the bit in Wicked the Musical where the two witches go their separate ways. The lyrics are about people coming to your life for a reason, who might not stay very long, but there’s a reason they’ve played a part in your life. I well up thinking about it.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 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
Also answered this
Paterson Joseph, Jodi Picoult, Sofie Gråbøl, Paapa Essiedu, Brandi Carlile, Rupert Graves
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject