Stephen Hawking had one heartbreaking biggest regret that was nothing to do with his career

Despite his physical disability, Stephen Hawking left an indelible mark on the world, from discoveries about black holes to being a major voice in the debate about how humanity can benefit or suffer from AI.

He became the most famous scientist in the last half-century and as a result of his work and research, the physicist received numerous scientific awards and was even offered a knighthood.

Alongside this, he published a book that sold over 10 million copies, A Brief History of Time, and reportedly created the 'Popular Science' genre in bookstores.

But outside of his work, Hawking was just a regular man with a loving family around him.

Stephen Hawking revealed his one big regret in life / Bruno Vincent / Staff / Getty

Back in 2015, comedian Dara Ó Briain gathered incredible insights about Hawking when he featured in a BBC documentary.

At the time, Hawking shared his biggest regret in life with Ó Briain who recalled feeling 'moved' by his openness and honesty.

He said: 'I got to see him five or six times, both at his Cambridge home and at work. I also met Lucy and Tim, who’re two of his three children.

'Stephen told me that his biggest regret was not being able to physically play with his children when they were little because of his illness and I was happy that he was prepared to be that honest with me, because he had no reason to be.

'But I suppose when you’re choosing your words as carefully as he does, why waste them on waffle?'

The physicist wishes he spent more time with his children / Santi Visalli / Contributor / Getty

'We tend to think of him in terms of these two extremes, either the crippling illness or the fact that he has the ‘greatest mind in the world’,' he continued.

'But there’s a moment where you get past the chair and him as an icon and he becomes this normal guy with a messy life, who’s an enthusiastic host and someone who’s used his fame to do fun things like going into zero gravity.'

Ó Briain learned that outside of his fame, Hawking was just like any other family man, playing board games with his kids when they were younger and even 'wouldn’t let them win!'

'There’s a gorgeous piece of footage in the documentary of Stephen as a younger man with his kids hanging off his wheelchair and him wheeling them around his garden,' Ó Briain added.