Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
When our children were born.
When were you happiest?
Question
What most recently made you cry?
Identity & self
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
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
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
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.
Aside from family life, which is the ultimate happiness, when I see or hear a great artist.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 April 2017 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 579 →I remember thinking, when I was in my early 30s, that this is the best age to be, and I still believe your 30s are a wonderful time. But I think I am pretty happy now.
Daniel Clowes
American cartoonist and writer
Probably in the past few years, though maybe it's just some mid-life hormonal surge.
I have a lot to be grateful for, but right now, being married. Having time to be with my husband and his children. I feel very grateful.
More from Edward Fox
View profile →I cry all the time. I like crying: it means that you’re more truly aware of a circumstance or a person or an event.
Probably a suit. If you buy a good suit, it lasts beyond your lifetime.
If you have a nice drink before going to bed, you don’t stay awake at night. I like almost anything in a bottle.
To be able to play the piano like Artur Schnabel.
The years between 13 and 17, which I think are very formative, and the rather arid public school upbringing I had at Harrow.
I feel lucky to have been in this business for as long as I have. When I think of the intake that I was with at Rada, only one other person is still an actor, an old fellow called Bill Gaunt.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 140 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 81 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 62 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 30 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 24 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 23 answers
Also answered this
Joseph Fiennes, Ethan Hawke, Joanne Froggatt, Helen George, Lesley Sharp, Imelda Staunton
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject