Alex Lawther: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

The question

What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Alex Lawther

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I spent about five years living in Paris thinking I would become Kristin Scott Thomas, and it didn’t happen.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2025 source ↗

Others on this question

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Johnny Flynn British actor and musician

When I left drama school, I thought I was going to work at the Royal Court and tell stories about political injustice. I got cast in ITV murder mysteries.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 April 2022 source ↗

Edith Bowman Scottish radio DJ and television presenter

Not having my own chatshow. Yet!

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 February 2021 source ↗

Michael Palin English actor

Not being fluent in another language.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 September 2009 source ↗

Liam Gallagher English singer-songwriter

Oasis splitting up.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 October 2017 source ↗

More from Alex Lawther

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Question How close have you come to dying? Death & what remains

My failed driving test a few months ago. I got three majors and by the end of it the examiner couldn’t wait to get out of the car.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2025 source ↗

Question If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

I would try and get to being comfortable with myself quicker.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2025 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Last year, during four days in January, when I directed Rhoda, my second short film, in a tiny house in Camberwell with Juliet Stevenson and Emma D’Arcy.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2025 source ↗