Willem Dafoe
Actor
Punctuality (outside of work, of course).
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2014 source ↗
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What does love feel like?
Relationships
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Oversharing. I long to be intimately connected to people and sometimes, among strangers, I don’t read the room.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
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Jack Whitehall
English comedian, actor, presenter and writer
I’m rabidly indiscreet. If you tell me an embarrassing story, it will probably end up in one of my scripts or standup routines.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 April 2023 source ↗
Feeling and being unfocused.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 October 2025 source ↗
Self-doubt and a reoccurring fear that people would prefer the other Alfred Molina.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
More from Daryl McCormack
View profile →Missing a cue on stage. I had to come on and move a piece of furniture with another actor and I completely forgot. I looked at the monitor and said, “Why is he standing on his own?” And somebody said, “Aren’t you meant to help him?”
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
Not actualising my full potential.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
A sense of home.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
For being joyful.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
Weirdly, sometimes exhaustion keeps me awake. If I am really tired, I won’t sleep well.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
Less phone use.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 February 2023 source ↗
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Adam Kay, Adam Lambert, Adele Parks, Adrian Dunbar, Al Franken, Alex Hassell
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