Tom Burke: How would you want people to remember you? — FLAPSS

The question

How would you want people to remember you?

Originally asked

Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions

A recurring legacy prompt in Vogue's 73 Questions, appearing with only minor wording changes.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

TB

Tom Burke

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I’ve not always been great friend material. I’ve tried to get better at that, so to be remembered as reliable by a few would be great.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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Brendan Gleeson Irish actor and director

With tenderness.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 December 2016 source ↗

Rosalind Eleazar

“Oh, she giggled, didn’t she?”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 February 2025 source ↗

Judy Murray Scottish tennis coach

Firm, fair, fun.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 December 2020 source ↗

By my friends and loved ones as someone who loved ferociously and always had their back.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 July 2025 source ↗

More from Tom Burke

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Question How would you sum yourself up in three words? Identity & self

Steady, reaching, bewildered.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Question What worries you about getting older? Time & hindsight

Having regrets and not knowing what to do about them.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Question What thought won't let you sleep? Daily life

It’s usually a slight feeling that, having got through the day, I didn’t get any time to do any writing or something creative – it was a lot of admin, exhaustion from that and rumination.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

To be stuck in the past.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Question How close have you come to dying? Death & what remains

A running accident when I was 14 or 15. I fainted but I was a bit of a jester and they thought I was taking the piss, so I was left for a bit. I woke up in hospital.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Question When were you most embarrassed? Failure & regret

Putting chocolate mousse in my agent’s face. Somebody had done it to me – that thing where they go, “Smell this, it smells funny”, and then they put it in your nose. A year later I was in this French restaurant with a very 1980s-style dessert trolley and, before I knew it, I had a bowl of chocolate mousse in front of me. And my agent went, “What’s that smell?”, and it felt impossible not to … I immediately felt awful and tried to apologise. He, of course, said that he found it funny. But I knew he didn’t.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

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