I cry all the time. Films can tip me over. Especially Pixar ones. I alarmed my kids when we went to see Coco – I was a mess. I cried at the Elton John gig at Glastonbury.
What most recently made you cry?
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is your greatest fear?
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.
I cry all the time. It’s embarrassing. I mostly cry when my children perform something at school. My wife regularly says, “Do you see any other fathers weeping?” But I can’t stop myself.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 June 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 193 →Reading a newspaper.
Abigail Breslin
American actress
Two days ago, on the plane back to New York, watching Love Actually.
Tony Robinson
British actor
Watching Britain's Got Talent.
More from Toby Stephens
View profile →I was in a restaurant with my daughter in Los Angeles and I had an accident involving a stomach upset. That was mortifying for both of us.
A review of Phèdre said – because I was quite large at the time – Toby Stephens’s Hippolytus needs to get on a StairMaster.
There was a very large part of my 20s where I was an alcoholic, and an addict. When I lost my dad to cirrhosis, I knew that the only difference between us was that, tragically, he couldn’t stop whereas I could.
Ulysses – I’ve tried many times and never got through it.
Never ever think that things are going to turn out all right.
To be completely alone.
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- What is your idea of perfect happiness? 161 answers
- How would you describe yourself in three words? 114 answers
- What are you most proud of? 109 answers
Also answered this
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