“You’re selfish.” It was a friend.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
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What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
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.
As a young actor, again at the Citizens theatre, I was making an exit and a theatregoer leaned over the balcony and said, “You’re terrible!”
The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 July 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 129 →Apart from stuff on social media, an ex-partner telling me I’m unlovable.
Somebody once told me I was the spitting image of David Cameron.
In school, I was 11, and we had to paint a picture of family life. My painting was held up to the class and I was told it looked like a spider with ink on its feet had walked across the page. It was done so viciously – humiliating.
More from Ciarán Hinds
View profile →As not being a total bollix.
Falling off the stage and on to the pianist during the opening number in the Mother Goose pantomime at the Citizens theatre in Glasgow.
My penchant for having just one too many.
Hopeful, egalitarian, overweight.
An inability to get myself to bed at a reasonable hour.
Not being able to fend for myself and being a burden to others.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 374 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 211 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 210 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 126 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 82 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 41 answers
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