I've been watching (incongruously) Angelina Jolie on Inside the Actor's Studio, and kinda enjoyed the questionnaire at the end. So, in memory of the time when questionnaires were so fun and frequent online!
(The Vanity Fair Questions)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A sense of accomplishment (a good job having been finished), good company, and a good laugh over a good meal.
What is your greatest fear?
Running out of time. Mediocrity.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being unable to be happy for others. Smallness and pettiness.
Where would you like to live?
Japan.
Which living person do you most admire?
Tough one. People who live and create passionately, resolutely, personally. But that is a very long list.
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Mizoguchi (in Kinkakuji and in Brushstrokes!),
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
The first wives, and that memoir-writing Geisha.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Oh dear lord. I don't know.
Who is/are your favorite painter?
Many.
Who is/are your favorite musician?
Madonna (deal with it)
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Gossip.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Gossip.
What is your favorite journey?
That motherfucker of a flight to Tokyo.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Propriety/restraint.
Which living person do you most despise?
Kinda starting to think that it's not really helpful.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Like....!
What is your favorite occupation?
If I wasn't what I was (or trying to be all these things) I would love to consider being an architect.
What is your greatest regret?
Don't think I have any. I'm too young to call them regrets, for now. Leaving Japan is the closest thing to a regret that I have, but it's not one.
When and where were you happiest?
Japan, I guess. Still I'm happy today anyway.
What is your current state of mind?
Enjoying Angelina on the Actor's Studio. Calm, excited at some new ideas brewing in my head.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My feet.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Dear lord. Let me get back to you on that.
What is your most treasured possession?
A book and cd given to me by someone very special. It's as much for the gifts as for the thought behind them.
What is your most marked characteristic?
Over-analysis? Being a good listener, I hope.
What is the quality you most like in a man/woman?
Kindness/sense of humour.
Who are your favorite writers?
Salman Rushdie, Yukio Mishima, Pablo Neruda, Shakespeare, Federico Garcia Lorca.
What is your motto?
Believe. Keep at it. If it's all an illusion, we might as well laugh at it.
(The Actor's Studio Questions)
What is your favorite word?
Thank you.
What is your least favorite word?
Sweetie.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Individuality, beauty, wabi sabi, gratitude, the ineffable, the ephemeral, laughter.
What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Ego, forced things, affectation, cruelty, jealousy.
What sound or noise do you love?
Music. The welcome announcement at the theatre in Epidaurus, and the strange bird that sings there.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Traffic light indicators in Dublin. Scratches on stone or unglazed clay.
What is your favorite curse word?
C*nt. For emergency use only.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Architecture. Publishing.
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything repetetive or clerical in an office with no natural light.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Do come in, we're celebrating, and there are some people here would love to meet you.
