Dustin Hoffman: 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.

Dustin Hoffman

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

The moment I knew I would spend my life with Lisa.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2009 source ↗

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Rob Brydon Welsh actor and comedian

As a boy in a tree.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 August 2012 source ↗

Kellie Maloney Retired boxing manager, promoter and politician

At the birth of my children; when Lennox Lewis was crowned undisputed world heavyweight champion; and the day I had my final gender reassignment operation.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 August 2024 source ↗

Vinnie Jones English professional footballer and actor

In 1988, when the final whistle went in the FA Cup final and we beat Liverpool.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 June 2016 source ↗

Samira Ahmed British journalist and writer

On stage, interviewing one of my heroes, Paul McCartney, at the Royal Festival Hall last November.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 January 2022 source ↗

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Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

My belief that saying it makes it happen.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2009 source ↗

Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

The Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, who is 100 years old and still working.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2009 source ↗

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

When the coffee kicks in early in the morning and I’m on the couch with my dogs, reading the paper.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 February 2009 source ↗

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