Jim Broadbent: 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.

Jim Broadbent

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

The Obamas are impressive.

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

Mentioned in this answer

Person The Obamas not yet on FLAPSS

Others on this question

View all 407 →

Allison Janney

My niece, Petra Janney, who got her pilot’s license to rescue animals from rural kill shelters and have them placed with different pet adoption agencies.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, July 2025 source ↗

Don Rickles

Well, Frank Sinatra’s gone, so the rest have to stand in line.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, April 2017 source ↗

Ed Harris American actor and director

My father. He has treated every person he has met with kindness and respect.

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

Arlene Phillips

Carlos Acosta, for his incredible achievement in dance.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 October 2010 source ↗

More from Jim Broadbent

View profile →

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

Their humor and that they are smarter than I, but not by too much.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 26 January 2018 source ↗

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

Weeping with laughter.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 26 January 2018 source ↗

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

It happens all the time, but childhood holidays on the North Norfolk coast were a kind of bliss.

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

Also answered this

Jason Manford, Charlie Munger, Joseph Fiennes, Tony Christie, Timothy Hutton, Hayley Squires

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

All values & belief questions
The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject

Report this answer

Mentioned in this answer

Others on this question

More from Jim Broadbent

More on values & belief

Also answered this

Explore further