When our children were born.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2016 source ↗
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.
When our children were born.
Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2016 source ↗
A few years ago in Vermont, when I eloped with Trish to have a civil partnership ceremony.
When my three kids were born.
I have never been happier than I am now. As for when I was happiest in my work, playing King Arthur in Spamalot in the West End.
The most unabashed joy I’ve ever felt was that first 24 hours of magic after our son was born in California last June.
But part of practicing to me is actually an active enjoyment. When people ask, “How much do you practice and do you like practice?” Well, I think it’s always getting your mind to go from “I should” to “I want.” It’s like the magic button that only you can locate. When you’re doing the “should” thing, time happens very slowly. Ugh, I’ve been practicing forever! Fifteen minutes. But when you want to do something, an hour has passed. Your control of time depends on whether you should do something or whether you want to do something.
While I’m on stage, you are all my guests, because that’s sort of the unsaid agreement. While you’re my guest, if something bad happens on stage, I often think of Julia Child, “Oh, the chicken’s fallen on the floor! Yes. Oh, well pick it up and put it right back.” And you know what? Everybody’s with you. […] So whatever you practice for on the engineering side that fails is all right, because we have a greater purpose. The greater purpose is that we’re communing together and we want this moment to be really special for all of us. Because otherwise, why bother to have come at all? It’s not about proving anything. It’s about sharing something.
Those times when I feel equilibrium, maximum consciousness, and clarity.
Perfection is always a desired goal, but it cannot be a primary goal. Expression has to be the primary goal, because otherwise, there is no need for an actual person to be there.
Mr. Rogers lives on. There’s so many legions of people that grew up with him, and they’re still in a way growing up with him. He, of course, was a minister. ... And the children of the show, in the neighborhood, are his ministry. And what a beautiful thing that is. So I, to this day, when someone says, “What are you most proud to have accomplished?” I am so proud to have been a part of that.
My inability to keep track of personal possessions.
Joanna Scanlan, Zack Polanski, Hugh Dennis, Jean Smart, Sebastian Coe, Jim Broadbent
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