I was thrown out of a club by bouncers when I walked into somebody and told them that I was registered blind. They said: “Don’t give a fuck – you don’t belong in here.” As a straight white man, it gives you a taste of what other people have to contend with.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
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 get a lot of abuse online because of my opposition to the assault on Gaza. The abuse is horrific, but I’ve learned to ignore it. The integrity of how you live your life is more important than what strangers think.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 122 →
Chiwetel Ejiofor
English actor
“You’ll never do well as an actor unless you change your name.” I’m not going to say who.
I’ve heard it all: too fat, too short, no talent. Those are the things that cut me deep when I was younger, but now they drive me.
Adam Lambert
American singer
“You’re never going to make it.” It was some guy I was dating. I had the last laugh.
More from Juliet Stevenson
View profile →I worked in a supermarket on the Kings Road when I was 17, standing by the beers, wines and spirits to make sure people didn’t shoplift. They were such horrible employers that I didn’t care whether people shoplifted or not.
Impulsive, enthusiastic, determined.
I really wanted a role in Harry Potter and I never got one.
Not being able to run.
I talk too much.
I would find a much better way of looking after my mum in her last three years of dementia. I did my best, but it was incredibly difficult to find the right kind of care unless you’ve got £3,000 a week to spend.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 366 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 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
Sharon Corr, Ally McCoist, Seann Walsh, Tom Fletcher, Lucy Lawless, Giovanna Fletcher
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