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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.

Others on this question

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Zadie Smith Novelist and essayist
I feel almost certain I don't know them. It would be one of these types who dedicate their lives to the welfare of others, whereas the people I tend to know are people making stories out of the dramas of themselves.
Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2016 source ↗
Mary Portas English retail consultant
My wife, Melanie. She's had real trauma and loss in her life, yet she starts every day with joy, and sees the world as a good place
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 March 2012 source ↗
Lleyton Hewitt Australian professional tennis player
Greg Norman, for the way he handles winning and losing.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 July 2016 source ↗

More from John Malkovich

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Question Does the thought of dying frighten you? Death & what remains
I don’t think so! You can’t really know that until the moment of your death, at which point you will probably not be afraid because you won’t be there. I have a very old friend who called me last year to say, “Okay I am done. I am not fighting this anymore. I am checking out. I am calling to say goodbye because I am not really conscious most of the time. I am cutting off the pain killers.” He seemed okay. That was not the moment of his death, but it was within two or three days.
Recorded The Talks, 8 February 2023 source ↗

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