Brendan Gleeson
Irish actor and director
Huckleberry Finn.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
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.
I wanted to be a vet, and then realised it’s only really dogs that I adore, and if someone had a poorly mouse, I would be the one needing medical assistance.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 May 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 195 →
Engelbert Humperdinck
British singer
A saxophonist, but destiny chose another path for me, and I’m glad it happened that way.
A dress designer.
Jennifer Hudson
American singer and actress
I always wanted to be a singer.
More from Eleanor Tomlinson
View profile →Losing out on a role, any role. I get so invested. I can take rejection, but only when useful feedback is given.
“You were amazing in Game of Thrones.” I say it’s the worst thing – it’s also the best!
Narcissism. And people coughing on me in public.
Relief and an achy feeling in your cheeks from smiling.
A horse-riding accident when I was about 15.
Talk to people. Learn from them. And put your phone away.
More on identity & self
Also answered this
Anna Friel, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Robert Bathurst, Floella Benjamin, Oti Mabuse, Madhur Jaffrey
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject