Martin Scorsese: What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

The question

What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Martin Scorsese

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

When my friends and I were making Mean Streets, 1973.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2010 source ↗

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Julian Clary English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter

Sydney mardi gras, 1993.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 June 2022 source ↗

Perez Hilton American blogger

At the South By Southwest Music Festival last March. Few things make me happier than going to concerts, and this was an epic evening.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 January 2010 source ↗

Joyce Carol Oates Novelist, short story writer and essayist

On two dates: 23 January 1961 and 13 March 2009 (my two weddings).

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 January 2010 source ↗

Nicholas Parsons English actor, straight man and presenter

When my children Suzy and Justin were small: I loved watching them grow up, helping and encouraging them.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 August 2015 source ↗

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Question If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be? Identity & self

First of all, I’d like to stop complaining—I’m beginning to annoy myself. I would like to learn to read faster, however. Again, the rest I’ve learned to live with.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 22 February 2010 source ↗

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

I think you can strive to attain it, but be realistic about the outcome. In the meantime, I find I might be experiencing it through flashes or brief moments in love and art, and at times just being alive.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 March 2010 source ↗

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

Actually, I dislike dealing with schedules and logistics—mine and others’.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2010 source ↗

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

Laziness, wasting time. I’d like to be able to make films faster.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2010 source ↗

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