Proust Questionnaire
Emma Thompson
Having evidenced unrivaled range and revived Jane Austen for a modern audience, the two-time Oscar winner—and star of Brideshead Revisited, out this month—ponders her thighs, oenophilia, and weightier matters.
photograph by Chris Floyd July 2008
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Hot weather in Scotland.
Hot weather in Scotland.
What is your current state of mind?
Overstimulated.
Overstimulated.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing a child. Knives.
Losing a child. Knives.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Greed.
Greed.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Greed.
Greed.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Wine.
Wine.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Cleanliness.
Cleanliness.
What is it that you most dislike?
Bigotry.
Bigotry.
On what occasion do you lie?
To get out of going to things.
To get out of going to things.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Dimply thighs.
Dimply thighs.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Uxoriousness.
Uxoriousness.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Ability to laugh in the face of disaster.
Ability to laugh in the face of disaster.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“I have to say … ”; “Is it time for a drink?”
“I have to say … ”; “Is it time for a drink?”
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My family.
My family.
When and where were you happiest?
Just after giving birth without painkillers.
Just after giving birth without painkillers.
Which talent would you most like to have?
To play the piano exceptionally well.
To play the piano exceptionally well.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Giving birth without painkillers.
Giving birth without painkillers.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Then who would I be?
Then who would I be?
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be?
A human being. Again.
A human being. Again.
What is your most treasured possession?
My Finnish sauna.
My Finnish sauna.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Clinical depression. Exile.
Clinical depression. Exile.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Enthusiasm. Lots of teeth.
Enthusiasm. Lots of teeth.
What do you most value in your friends?
Humor.
Humor.
Who are your favorite writers?
Carver, George Eliot, Austen, Twain, Spike Milligan.
Carver, George Eliot, Austen, Twain, Spike Milligan.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
[British socialist and early feminist] Annie Besant.
[British socialist and early feminist] Annie Besant.
Who are your heroes in real life?
[Ugandan aids activist] Noerine Kaleeba and [British human-rights activist] Helen Bamber. My father, Eric Thompson. My husband, Greg Wise.
[Ugandan aids activist] Noerine Kaleeba and [British human-rights activist] Helen Bamber. My father, Eric Thompson. My husband, Greg Wise.
What are your favorite names?
Gaia, Tindy, Ernie, and Walter.
Gaia, Tindy, Ernie, and Walter.
What is your greatest regret?
Not having been able to have more children.
Not having been able to have more children.
How would you like to die?
By the river, in Scotland, clutching a good bottle of wine.
By the river, in Scotland, clutching a good bottle of wine.
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