Sam Neill: Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Which living person do you most admire, and why?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.

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

Recorded Sam Neill said elsewhere, not written here

My brother, Michael. He is an academic and has devoted his life to scholarship; my life seems trivial by comparison. Bastard.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 June 2016 source ↗

Others on this question

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Zoe Ball British TV and radio personality

All the NHS workers, care home staff and teachers who are the real superheroes of 2020.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 December 2020 source ↗

Rita Wilson American actress, singer, and producer

I really admire Bonnie Raitt. She is a singer songwriter who has been doing what she has been doing for so many years and she recently won the song of the year Grammy for Just Like That. I loved the validation that creativity never stops, you can keep doing the things that you love.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 April 2023 source ↗

Lee Child

The exact median middle-aged black woman in the US. If hard work guaranteed success, she’d be the most successful person on the planet. But she isn’t, yet she keeps on going.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 June 2025 source ↗

Cecile Richards