Olly Alexander
English singer and actor
Early in my career I got really close to being one of the kids in the Narnia movie. I remember being crushed.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
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.
My singing career.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 December 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 366 →
Mo Farah
British track and field athlete
Beijing 2008 – not making the Olympic final.
Florence Welch
British singer
Never getting the lead in the musical at school.
Not marrying the person I wanted to marry, but now I think it’s probably good that I didn’t.
More from Dominic West
View profile →Last year. I was with my wife and all my kids in northern California, driving an RV. I remember thinking that life couldn’t possibly get any better.
Stacey Dooley. She does incredible documentaries – in one, she took spoiled British kids to the Philippines to work in a factory. It’s exactly what my kids need to watch.
I wanted to race cars.
Getting all four kids to school in the morning.
To Mark Smith, a boy we bullied at primary school. I’ve always felt terrible about it.
More on failure & regret
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 203 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 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? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
Also answered this
Mary J Blige, Alison Steadman, Una Stubbs, Eddie Marsan, John Bishop, Rhys Ifans
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