John Lithgow: 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 John Lithgow said elsewhere, not written here

Conflict aversion.

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

Others on this question

That I don’t give myself enough credit.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 October 2025 source ↗

Self-flagellation.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 July 2025 source ↗

Carl Barât English musician

Fear and all of its consequences.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 March 2022 source ↗

Hugh Grant Actor

I am unable to use scissors.

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

Creating something and feeling proud of it.

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

Climate change, duh.

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

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

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

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

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

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