John Lithgow: Which trait in yourself do you like least?

The question

Which trait in yourself do you like least?

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.

John Lithgow

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Conflict aversion.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2024 source ↗

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Sally Field Actor

Overall I’d have to say my earnestness.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2016 source ↗

Bryn Terfel Welsh bass-baritone singer

Thinking that singing makes me fit.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 November 2024 source ↗

Bobbi Brown

Feeling and being unfocused.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 October 2025 source ↗

Ed Harris American actor and director

Asking my wife questions that don't need to be asked.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 August 2007 source ↗

More from John Lithgow

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Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

Climate change, duh.

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

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

Three versions of the same trait: deceit, hypocrisy, and manipulativeness.

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

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Probably the curtain call of my final performance when I played King Lear.

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

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

Creating something and feeling proud of it.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 25 October 2024 source ↗

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