Billy Crudup: What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

The question

What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

Originally asked

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

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

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

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I was going to a bar with friends and there was a line at the door. I’d been there before and asked the doorman to skip the line. He said, “Oh, I remember you, you were in Almost Famous, weren’t you?” And I said, “Yeah.” And he goes, “Yeah, get back in line.”

The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 February 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 122 →

Marcus Mumford

“I have it on very good authority he’s a complete cunt.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 February 2026 source ↗

Paul McKenna British hypnotist and TV personality

“Oh, he’s all about money.” I’ve never charged anyone in all the years I’ve been doing one-to-one work. That’s my gift to the world.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 January 2023 source ↗

Peter Sarsgaard

When I was first acting, in college, a relative came and saw me in Hedda Gabler and she said: “Look in the mirror, you’re not an actor. An actor looks like Mel Gibson.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 February 2024 source ↗

Bruno Tonioli Italian choreographer