Kevin Bacon: Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

The question

Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them?

Originally asked

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

The Guardian's Q&A repeatedly uses this prompt, sometimes dropping 'living' while retaining the same comparative judgment.

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

Kevin Bacon

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My wife – for her intelligence, talent, ability to survive this business and be such a fantastic mother to our two kids. (Of course, I have to say that, because she’s sitting right here.)

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 November 2018 source ↗

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Rhys Ifans Welsh actor and musician

Anyone who is risking their life to cross a body of water with their family to escape war.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 September 2019 source ↗

Gloria Steinem Writer and feminist organiser

Dr Denis Mukwege, because he is to sexualised violence against females what Mandela was to apartheid.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 March 2017 source ↗

Judith Kerr British writer and illustrator

No one I can think of, but lots of people no longer living.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗

Liz Jones British journalist

Celia Hammond: she gave up a glamorous life to rescue cats.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 September 2013 source ↗

More from Kevin Bacon

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Question As a child, what career or life did you imagine for yourself? Identity & self

Before I knew what being an actor was, I wanted to be one.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 November 2018 source ↗

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

They want nothing but friendship.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 3 June 2025 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

Food in a sink drain.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2025 source ↗

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

I can’t stand the way my voice will crack if I’m making a speech. I hate public speaking and the emotion it dredges up.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2025 source ↗

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

A family dinner. Candlelight. Lots of laughs.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 3 June 2025 source ↗

Question How would you want people to remember you? Death & what remains

As someone who did what he could with what he had.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 November 2018 source ↗

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