I can be horribly smug and conceited, and yet always in the back of my mind is the thought that things could go terribly wrong at any moment.
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
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 would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
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 don’t think anyone should deplore anything about themselves. You can always improve things, but by deploring you’re putting yourself on a losing streak.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 April 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 243 →I am a bit of a procrastinator.
Audra McDonald
Singer and actor
If hoarding and procrastination were Olympic sports, I’d have at least 70 gold medals.
Bruce Dickinson
English heavy metal singer
Procrastination.
More from Bruno Tonioli
View profile →Follow your dream and never give up, because it’s not over until the fat lady sings. Ride the adventure!
Meanness and lying.
Oprah Winfrey. Considering the cards she was dealt at birth, what she has achieved is quite something.
That I did everything I had to and I never gave up!
Do you have 10 pages? Once, I was dancing in a costume that was like a corset. During a move, the corset ripped and exploded, and I had to carry on doing the number practically in my jockstrap.
I bought a Mercedes convertible brand new in 2016 and I’ve only done 4,000 miles. I love cars – if I’m going to blow it, it’ll be on a sports car. I already have my eyes on the next one – I’ll get Simon Cowell to buy it.
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Joseph Fiennes, Luise Rainer, Phoebe Dynevor, Jared Harris, Sarah Perry, Cybill Shepherd
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