Mark Gatiss
British actor and writer
I was a very lazy child, but I think I’ve made up for it by being a workaholic. I might push some of the work back to my childhood.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
Question
What happens when we die?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
My friend Fritha Goodey wouldn’t have committed suicide.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 January 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 210 →
David Jason
English actor
Not getting older at each birthday, but I appreciate it beats the alternative.
kd lang
Canadian musician
When I was working hard, I was going so fast that I didn’t absorb a lot.
Joss Stone
English singer, songwriter, and actress
It’s all a learning experience, even if it’s a shit time.
More from Monica Dolan
View profile →I try too hard not to get things wrong.
Another actress once said to me, “I’ve told you huge lies to make you feel good about yourself.” I’m not going to say who.
Being lost and no one wanting to find me.
Not marrying the person I wanted to marry, but now I think it’s probably good that I didn’t.
Any unread book a friend bought me.
Our friends are sad and miss us for a bit but, hopefully, they find other people at the party.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 374 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 211 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 129 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 126 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 82 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 41 answers
Also answered this
Lionel Shriver, Steve Pemberton, Rupert Graves, Heather Graham, Aidan Gillen, Courtney Pine
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject