Bryn Terfel
Welsh bass-baritone singer
Thinking that singing makes me fit.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
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’m a bit of a hoarder.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 September 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 243 →
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
I love to break rules.
Julian Clary
English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter
My cold indifference towards discarded friends.
Marina Abramović
Performance artist
My difficulty to forgive.
More from Penny Lancaster
View profile →In a different sense, I’ve helped to try to resuscitate a dead man.
It was reading out loud, but no longer. (I am dyslexic.) I was encouraged by my husband to do a speech for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, which helped me gain my confidence, and the fear disappeared.
I would be less naive.
Less time on my phone.
Honest, empathetic, daring.
Lack of empathy.
More on identity & self
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Laurie Metcalf, Takashi Murakami, Jean Smart, George H. W. Bush, Zack Polanski, Rose Ayling-Ellis
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