Omid Djalili
British stand-up comedian and actor
Jumping on the seats of a deserted carriage on a London-bound train from Canterbury in 1989.
What does love feel like?
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's weekly The Q&A repeatedly uses this exact standing prompt.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
A white-hot explosion that turns into a comforting warmth.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 August 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
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Suzi Quatro
American-British rock musician
Like coming home in every sense.
Bryan Adams
Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
It can be as light as a feather or as heavy as a stone.
Olly Alexander
English singer and actor
Like something or someone is part of your DNA, the fabric of who you are.
More from Harlan Coben
View profile →With a wistful smile.
I don’t even voice them. Perhaps the books are my outlet here.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but if I could go back and fix the mistake, I wouldn’t be here.
I was followed by a mob of fans when I was doing a photoshoot in Paris. When I signed autographs for them during a break, one remarked: “Who the fuck is Harlan Coben? I told you it wasn’t Bruce Willis.”
I worked a janitorial job, cleaning university dormitories after students had gone home for the summer. You can’t imagine the condition some of those rooms were in. They could have doubled as sets for a slasher film.
We are too often advised to live life to the fullest. That’s too much pressure. The key is to find joy and poignancy in the quiet and mundane. Life is lived between the so-called big moments.
More on relationships
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