Joseph Fiennes
English actor
That fear becomes too great.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 October 2008 source ↗
What is your greatest fear?
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Identity & self
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Originally asked
Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire
The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Losing a loved one.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 255 →Being on my deathbed and realising I’d forgotten to treat each day as the miracle that it is.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 April 2024 source ↗
Any misfortune involving our kids. Also, I have recurring nightmares that involve being chased by people or being attacked by scary animals.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, April 2026 source ↗
Bruce Dickinson
English heavy metal singer
Well, I’m not too happy about snakes. I also hate sand. It’s very inconvenient.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2024 source ↗
More from Jean Smart
View profile →Kindness and laughter. If someone makes me laugh, I’m halfway in love.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2024 source ↗
My kids are in the house. I’ve been gardening in my vegetable garden. I have absolutely zero obligations or calls to return. Now I’m fixing dinner with music playing and having a glass of wine.
Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2024 source ↗
My wedding day, and when my children were first placed in my arms.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Cruelty, and also general rudeness and unkindness. I’ve always told my children: Don’t ever find entertainment in someone else’s discomfort.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
When I’m feeling lazy and I sleep in too much.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
Jane Goodall. I got the chance to meet her a few years ago, and it was the thrill of a lifetime. When I was little, I wanted to be her. I thought she had the coolest life in the world.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗
More on identity & self
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- What did you want to be when you were growing up? 191 answers
- What is your idea of perfect happiness? 158 answers
- How would you describe yourself in three words? 110 answers
- What are you most proud of? 98 answers
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