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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.

Others on this question

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Jason Manford English comedian and singer
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.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 July 2023 source ↗
Steve Jobs Co-founder and chief executive of Apple; co-founder of NeXT; chief executive of Pixar
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.
Recorded David Sheff, Playboy Interview, February 1985 source ↗
Joyce Carol Oates Novelist, short story writer and essayist
“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.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2018 source ↗
Samantha Morton British actress
Harry apart, Michael Fassbender, because his acting is beyond my comprehension and I find him absolutely fearless and inspirational.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 March 2012 source ↗

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