Jens Stoltenberg, for the way he united Norway after the massacre on Utøya in 2011.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 July 2014 source ↗
Mentioned in this answer
- Person Jens Stoltenberg not yet on FLAPSS
- Place Norway
- Place Utøya
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.
Jens Stoltenberg, for the way he united Norway after the massacre on Utøya in 2011.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 July 2014 source ↗
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It doesn’t seem anyone has a bad word to say about him. They should let him be president – of the world. We had a brief Twitter chat, and I printed the tweets out and put them on my office wall.
You know, Dr. Edwin Land was a troublemaker. He dropped out of Harvard and founded Polaroid. Not only was he one of the great inventors of our time but, more important, he saw the intersection of art and science and business and built an organization to reflect that.
“Most admiring” an individual may depend upon knowing her—or him—only at a distance. Public personalities may be the easiest to admire, for obvious reasons. Michelle Obama has seemed to me enormously admirable, like President Obama. And—of course!—Oprah, a great American original. Among people whom I know personally, & have known for some time, Gloria Vanderbilt is most admirable. There are too many things to say about Gloria to fit this space—& indeed I have said a good deal about Gloria in the past—but she is one of the most remarkable persons of my acquaintance. Equally admirable, among my friends who are “known” to the public, whom nonetheless I know as individuals, is Steve Martin, remarkable also for the diversity of his talent(s). But what is most impressive about Steve is that, greatly gifted as he is in comedy, his comic vision is essentially unifying—radiantly goofy, never injurious to anyone. It has become a rare comedy that doesn’t trade upon marginalizing & insulting others & it is really quite remarkable how through his long career Steve has never insulted, hurt, or objectified anyone else for the sake of laughter.
Harry apart, Michael Fassbender, because his acting is beyond my comprehension and I find him absolutely fearless and inspirational.
A song by Ellie Goulding – I am not telling you which one.
Coming back to work after being ill. A year ago I couldn't see that happening. I am still pinching myself.
Most recently, going to a 1D concert at Wembley with my nine-year-old daughter. Seeing her dream becoming real. The highlight was meeting a nice man in the elevator when it was over, who gave her Harry's autograph. Turned out to be his dad. To my daughter that was like meeting the archangel Gabriel.
I'd have a good, encouraging start in school – I think I'd be a different person, with fewer anxiety attacks.
Dan Aykroyd, Sam Neill, Ben Kingsley, Mark Gatiss, Billie Piper, Nicholas Hoult
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