Michael Cunningham: Which trait in yourself do you like least?

The question

Which trait in yourself do you like least?

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.

Michael Cunningham

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I’m chronically late. It’s magical thinking: I actually believe I can take a shower and get dressed in three minutes, that the train will be pulling into the station the moment I arrive….

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2023 source ↗

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Johannes Radebe

My default will always be to go for the worst-case scenario and that is something that I am unlearning.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 March 2026 source ↗

Roger McGough

I’m embarrassed when I get people’s names wrong.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 January 2026 source ↗

Keir Starmer

Vic, my wife, has over the years reduced my impatience, but anybody who has been in a traffic jam with me will know that she hasn’t completed the task yet.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 August 2023 source ↗

Whoopi Goldberg

I can be a huge asshole, not very nice. Doesn’t happen very often, but when it happens, it’s not attractive.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2015 source ↗

More from Michael Cunningham

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Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

Forbearance with my chronic tardiness.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 22 November 2023 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

The fact that, until recently, “the end of the world” would have seemed pretentious and evasive, and now seems like the only possible answer.

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

Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

The very idea of perfect happiness. Who wouldn’t be happy about the proposition that happiness can be perfect?

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 22 November 2023 source ↗

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