Stuff
John Lithgow Revealed
Revealing Questions
- Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
- A. lively, varied, fun, wife, kids, acting, writing, anything!
- Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
- A. Perfect happiness? It's elusive, of course. You have to embrace life's imperfectibility. But in my case it connects with one of two things: my best times with my wife and my moments of creative fulfillment: curtain calls, finished paintings, unlocking the last puzzle of a piece of writing. Like I say, always imperfect.
- Q. What’s your greatest fear?
- A. harm to my children
- Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
- A. London, my favorite city
- Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
- A. William Shakespeare, actor writer
- Q. Which living person do you most admire?
- A. Right now? Barack Obama
- Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
- A. Wonderful, fabulous, fantastic
- Q. What do you regret most?
- A. never really learning music
- Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
- A. piano playing
- Q. What is your greatest achievement?
- A. my children
- Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
- A. Indecisiveness, fecklessness.
- Q. What’s your best quality?
- A. curiosity
- Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
- A. I'm pretty content with being myself
- Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
- A. My height and my foolish face
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
- A. Hamlet, cause he talks so good
- Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
- A. Iago, cause he talks good too
- Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
- A. These days? Barack Obama, of course. And I'd say, "what can I do for you?"
- Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
- A. That particular question
- Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
- A. Acting, which in fact IS my occupation when I'm not writing.
- Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
- A. Opera basso profundo
- Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
- A. creativity, compassion, generosity
- Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
- A. That lobster at Corton last week
- Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
- A. The best arias from Le Nozze di Figaro
On Books and Writing
- Q. How did you come to write Carnival of the Animals?
- A. This was the narration to a ballet created for the NYC Ballet by my friend the great choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. I ended up doing the narration and also dancing the elephant (see the photo at the end of the book!)
