James Norton
English actor
My 13-year-old self, for all the resentment.
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
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Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
To a resistant materials teacher at secondary school called Mr Noel. He had a comb-over and whenever he turned his back to write on the blackboard, we would roll up bits of paper and launch them at his head. Once, I hit him. I remember him turning around and looking crestfallen.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 October 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
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Meghan Trainor
American singer-songwriter
My younger self for not believing in her.
Victoria Pendleton
British cyclist
Lots of people, mainly for being so absent from their lives while I was concentrating on sport. I’d also like to say sorry to my dad’s mum, because, aged four, I told her she was the worst cook in the world.
Ed Harris
American actor and director
Dick Cheney for hating him for being one of the most destructive people on Earth.
More from David Ajala
View profile →I don’t think anything scares me. It’s a gift and I want to embrace it.
Telesales – having to sell terrible kitchens. I thought, maybe I’m not a good actor because I can’t even convince myself that these kitchens are worth paying for.
When I was naive to the complexities of life.
Finding a tenner in your jeans pocket. It has always been there but you find it at the moment you really need it.
Helen Mirren was in the elevator with me at the National Theatre. She pressed the button but it didn’t move. I said, “Fancy seeing you here and being stuck in an elevator.” And she said, “Was that meant to be funny?” I apologised, and she laughed. Even talking about it now, it feels so awkward and embarrassing.
Curious, playful and silly.
More on failure & regret
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- 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
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Stephanie Beacham, Kate Humble, Caroline Lucas, Christy Turlington Burns, Ian Rankin, Kelly Hoppen
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