Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
When our children were born.
When were you happiest?
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
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
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.
At boarding school, I was unable to get the main part in Hamlet, so I put on a production of The Homecoming with my friends. The teachers came to see it and said they didn’t know I had it in me. It felt very good.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 May 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
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Steve Coogan
British actor and comedian
I would like to say right now, but probably childhood – though even that may be wrong, so I'll say six weeks ago walking in the Lakes.
Last summer with my boyfriend Richie. We had no plans – it was just wonderful.
The birth of my children.
More from Adeel Akhtar
View profile →I fell off a ladder, landed on my back, got up and was fine.
My mum, because she smuggled me into the National Youth Theatre during summer time when my dad didn’t want me to be an actor, and she’s seen everything I’ve done.
In Brooklyn, I was a dishwasher in a sandwich shop.
A snazzy coffee machine that grinds beans and steams milk.
After I got arrested, my dad, a lawyer, took me to a QC to try to build a case against the FBI. The dejection on his face when it became obvious that we couldn’t was disappointing.
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