John Cleese: Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

The question

Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

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.

John Cleese

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Michael Frayn – such modesty, talent, kindness and bottomless curiosity.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 October 2012 source ↗

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Michael Douglas

Any cancer survivor.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2011 source ↗

Tina Brown British and American journalist

Harry Evans. My opportunities to admire him are many since I am – at time of writing – still married to him.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 May 2010 source ↗

Jess Phillips British politician

Harriet Harman. I know how hard it is to do what she’s doing.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 April 2018 source ↗

Chris Bryant

Zelenskyy for holding out against Putin.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 September 2025 source ↗

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Question What song would you want played at your funeral? Death & what remains

Tchaikovsky's 1812, sung by Barry Manilow.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 October 2012 source ↗

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

The demise of the London Daily Mail.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 16 October 2014 source ↗

Question Which trait in yourself do you like least? Identity & self

Self-criticism.

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

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Lack of self-criticism.

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

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

There are different kinds of happiness, but the simplest was when I was 13 because what one had to do was so obvious.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 19 October 2012 source ↗

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Caroline Lucas, Toni Collette, John Waters, Judd Apatow, Craig David, Richard Schiff

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