Laurie Metcalf: 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.

Laurie Metcalf

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My sister, who manages to see the positive in any situation.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2018 source ↗

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Garrison Keillor

My president, a heroic figure—also good- humored, pretty smart, elegant; and if the rest of the world thinks he typifies America, I don’t mind at all.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2009 source ↗

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Basketball player and author

Barack Obama has shown us how to be a politician guided by intelligence, integrity, and compassion.

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

Rose Ayling-Ellis British actress

Dolly Parton. I love how she does what she wants, and lives how she wants, keeping her life so private. Also, she helped fund Covid vaccine research.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 August 2024 source ↗

James Dyson British inventor and businessman

David Hockney, because he’s so experimental and creative. He continually reinvents himself in a really delightful way.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 December 2021 source ↗

More from Laurie Metcalf

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

Their ability to make me laugh from the gut.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 21 February 2018 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

Anything underneath me in water I can’t see to the bottom of.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2018 source ↗

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

Impatience. The inability to ever finish a knitting project.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2018 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Ingratitude. Taking advantage of others.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, February 2018 source ↗

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

Pizza and wine after performing for a great Saturday-night crowd on Broadway.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 21 February 2018 source ↗

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Phil Daniels, Cerys Matthews, Eugene Levy, Annie Mac, Anna Paquin, Mel Giedroyc

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