The Opposite of People: The Transformative Power of Counterintuition | Paul Barry | TEDxDocklands

In Tom Stoppard’s play /Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead/, he humorously writes, ‘But don’t you see! We’re actors! We’re the opposite of people!’. After more than 20 years of teaching acting for film and TV around the world Paul Barry finds this consistently to be proven true. In order to regularly and believably portray real and engaging human beings, actors must subvert their habitual impulses and dive into the unfamiliar and sometimes frightening territory of playing the opposite of what would seem to be ‘intuitive’. Actors learn by observing their fellow humans on an incredibly deep level, but Paul Barry is here to let you know that you can flip the camera around and observe actors, and in so doing, become bolder, braver and more successful in your own life. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Paul Barry worked extensively in the industry as an actor and director and taught acting and corporate communication skills upon graduation for six years prior to moving to Santa Monica, California where he now resides. Having taught acting for film and TV for over 20 years to almost five thousand clients from around the world, including many recognisable actors working on screen in Australia, the UK and the US, Paul's time is now dedicated to his online acting training and helping actors avoid the 'starving artist' fate by teaching online income generation skills to the next generation of artists via his coaching program, 'Dreaming for a Living'. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx