James Norton
English actor
I have a habit of sabotaging the moment in pursuit of perfection.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What do you value most in your friends?
Relationships
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
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.
I can’t stand the way my voice will crack if I’m making a speech. I hate public speaking and the emotion it dredges up.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 243 →Absentmindedness.
I’m chronically late. It’s magical thinking: I actually believe I can take a shower and get dressed in three minutes, that the train will be pulling into the station the moment I arrive….
Obsequiousness.
More from Kevin Bacon
View profile →Before I knew what being an actor was, I wanted to be one.
Lying. Let’s not call it “untruthful.” Or “factually inaccurate.” I don’t even call it bullshit, because I like bulls. And bulls need to shit. So you can’t hold that against them. Let’s call it what it is: lying.
My wife – for her intelligence, talent, ability to survive this business and be such a fantastic mother to our two kids. (Of course, I have to say that, because she’s sitting right here.)
Food in a sink drain.
They want nothing but friendship.
As someone who did what he could with what he had.
More on identity & self
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Adam Kay, Adam Lambert, Adele Parks, Adrian Dunbar, Al Franken, Alex Hassell
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