On stage. Always on stage. God that’s depressing, isn’t it?
When were you happiest?
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I am probably happiest now, but I have been happy at every stage of my life.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 February 2011 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 576 →
Sally Mann
Photographer
On the island of Bequia—one summer, out of the blue, a benefactor (thank you, Charlene) flew our entire family there and put us up in a cliffside house that was a weird mixture of Gaudí and Fred Flintstone and where we went to sleep at eight and got up at five. In between we read, swam, hiked, and unknowingly enjoyed the last moment before the irrevocable shear of adolescence set in.
John Malkovich
Actor
Probably when our children were small, which is not to say I am unhappy now.
Jools Holland
English musician and television personality
Paradise is the moment you are in, so right now I'm happiest talking to you.
More on time & hindsight
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 133 answers
- What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore? 73 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 59 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 25 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 23 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 22 answers
Also answered this · A–Z
Abigail Breslin, Adeel Akhtar, Adrian Dunbar, Adrian Edmondson, Aidan Gillen, Alan Cumming
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject