Douglas Booth: Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? — FLAPSS

The question

Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

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.

DB

Douglas Booth

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Whenever I walk past an ice-cream shop, I just can’t not buy an ice-cream.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Others on this question

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Rita Moreno Actor, singer and dancer

Short-term memory.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2022 source ↗

I try too hard not to get things wrong.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 January 2024 source ↗

Judy Blume Novelist

My phobias. I’m down to two, so I take that as a positive sign.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, April 2023 source ↗

Self-criticism.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2014 source ↗

More from Douglas Booth

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Question What is the most important lesson life has taught you? Time & hindsight

One’s created sense of self is not who you are. The present moment is all we have.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Question What most recently made you cry? Identity & self

Watching the news. Human life seemed pretty cheap in 2024.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

Whenever I’m swimming in the lido at London Fields.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Question If you could edit your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

I’d give my younger self the lessons I’ve learned over the years, sparing myself the need to figure everything out so publicly.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Question What is the trait you most deplore in others? Values & belief

When people are rude to their waiter.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

Question Which living person do you most admire, and why? Values & belief

My friend Josie Naughton, the co‑founder and CEO of the charity Choose Love, which supports refugees and displaced people. She left her job working for Coldplay to dedicate her life to this cause.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 February 2025 source ↗

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