David Hyde Pierce: If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

The question

If you could alter one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

Verbatim recurring item in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.

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

David Hyde Pierce

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I would be a better, faster, and more faithful writer of letters and e-mails, and returner of phone calls.

The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 3 April 2017 source ↗

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Robert De Niro Actor

I am the way I am, and I can’t change that. Why even think about it?

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 19 February 2013 source ↗

Steve Buscemi

Procrastinating. I saved answering this questionnaire until the very last minute.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 2 September 2025 source ↗

Brooke Shields

I would erase my fear of dying, but I suppose that would be erasing some of my human condition.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 18 February 2025 source ↗

Aung San Suu Kyi Leader of the National League for Democracy; Nobel Peace Prize laureate; State Counsellor of Myanmar, 2016–2021

Even if we do not achieve perfect peace on earth, because perfect peace is not of this earth, common endeavours to gain peace will unite individuals and nations in trust and friendship and help to make our human community safer and kinder.

Recorded Oslo City Hall, The Nobel Foundation, 16 June 2012 source ↗

More from David Hyde Pierce

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

Being at home with Brian and the dogs.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 3 April 2017 source ↗

Question Which quality in your friends matters most to you? Relationships

Humor, perspective, and selective honesty.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 3 April 2017 source ↗

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