Willem Dafoe: Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

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.

Recorded Willem Dafoe said elsewhere, not written here

Punctuality (outside of work, of course).

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2014 source ↗

Others on this question

Bruce Dickinson English heavy metal singer

Procrastination.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2024 source ↗

Speaking negatively to myself.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 August 2026 source ↗

When I’m feeling lazy and I sleep in too much.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, May 2024 source ↗

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Basketball player and author

Laziness. After 30 years of being a disciplined athlete with an intensely tight schedule, I still can’t forgive myself for letting things slide.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2020 source ↗

Bob Dylan: his great gift as a poet and musician, his long, incorruptible career—and he continues to tour constantly.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2014 source ↗

A crippling accident.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2014 source ↗

Discovering Rome on my scooter with my wife when we first met.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, June 2014 source ↗

How doesn’t matter—it’s when that matters. When I’m ready!

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 24 June 2014 source ↗

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