Chris Rock: Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

The question

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.

Chris Rock

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I have a child-like fear of being late. I’m a grown man, and I’m scared I’m going to the principal’s office.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2016 source ↗

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Tom Fletcher

I’m quite stubborn.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2025 source ↗

Frank Cottrell-Boyce British screenwriter, novelist and actor

My inability to say no.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 July 2023 source ↗

Takashi Murakami

Increasing forgetfulness.

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

John Malkovich American actor

How long do we have?

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, August 2013 source ↗

More from Chris Rock

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Question What is your idea of perfect happiness? Identity & self

Just a lazy day roaming New York with my daughters—La Esquina for lunch and Mister Softee for dessert.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 29 January 2016 source ↗

Question What is the trait you most deplore in others? Values & belief

I hate rich people that feel a need to tell you how hard they had it (“We had the smallest pool on the block”). And I hate poor people that feel a need to puff up their bios so they can better fit in with the rich—you meet a lot of Talented Mr. Ripleys in showbiz.

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

Question Which living person do you most admire, and why? Values & belief

Barack Obama—just the balls to think he could be president is gangster. People forget that, when he first announced he was running, most black people were for Hillary Clinton. The only person that was laughed at more for a crazy idea was Noah.

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

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

August 16, 1985. My dad took me and my brothers Andre and Tony to see the Fresh Fest at the Nassau Coliseum, on Long Island. We saw Whodini, the Fat Boys, and Grandmaster Flash. Greatest day of my life. The births of my children were big days, too, but billions of people have children—only 15,000 people saw that show.

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

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