Ian Rankin
Scottish crime writer
In my teens, an accountant. In my 20s, either a rock star or a novelist.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
This is a standing question in The Guardian's decades-long The Q&A and also recurs independently in career and life interviews.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
A ballet dancer.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 May 2025 source ↗
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Bertie Carvel
British actor
Luke Skywalker, for a time. After that, I mainly wanted to have a girlfriend one day.
Michael Stipe
American singer
Archaeologist, pop star, store cashier.
A comedian, and I may have achieved that.
More from Tamsin Greig
View profile →High-functioning introvert.
Nick Cave for his determination to hold a space for public discourse on the deep and difficult and mysterious elements of life.
Not knowing who my family are.
“And for you, sir?” It happens a lot.
When I decided that Mavis Staples was right – I don’t need to despise myself.
Bees humming in a tree of blossom.
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