PM
I talk over people all the time.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 July 2023 source ↗
The question
Which trait in yourself do you like least?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 239 →Feeling and being unfocused.
My ability to invariably say exactly the wrong thing in any given situation.
I’m quite stubborn.
Self-doubt and a reoccurring fear that people would prefer the other Alfred Molina.
More from Pauline McLynn
View profile →I hope the happiest moment is still ahead of me.
A hairdresser – I still want to be a hairdresser.
Not being able to breathe – I get very panicky at the thought.
Eight or nine years ago, I disgraced myself in the Japanese ambassador’s home in Dublin, at a celebration for my late mother-in-law’s book about living in Japan. Afterwards, when I had to apologise, she told me it was the worst night of her life and, because I was drunk enough not to remember the details, it will never not be the most embarrassing night of my life. People are filling in details even now – “Remember when you fell under the table during the first course?”
Never be rigid in your thinking, be open.
Actors live in a constant state of disappointment. I’ll never be happy with what I’ve done.
More on identity & self
- What do you fear most? 256 answers
- As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? 197 answers
- What most recently moved you to tears? 192 answers
- What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? 158 answers
- How would you sum yourself up in three words? 114 answers
- What fills you with the most pride? 103 answers
Also answered this
Cybill Shepherd, Matthew Modine, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Julie Andrews, Alison Steadman, Romesh Ranganathan
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All identity & self questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject