They became famous thanks to their stellar roles and social activities. But their contribution to psychological science is less known.
We used to think that the acting profession is not serious enough. But in order to become a good actor, in addition to talent, you need to know psychology. This is what helps to play the right character. The celebrities that we will talk about, in addition to their main activities, are also known for their publications on psychology.
Colin Firth
British actor, favorite of all women, Oscar and Golden Globe winner, known for his roles in the films Bridget Jones’s Diary, Pride and Prejudice, The King’s Speech, co-authored an article on the relationship of political preferences with the structure of the brain, after organizing this study1. The authors of the study found that conservatives differ in bоgreater development of the right amygdala of the brain, while liberals have a more developed anterior cingulate cortex.
This study is consistent with the findings of another recent finding – conservatism is associated with greater sensitivity to threats. Liberalism, on the other hand, is associated with the activity of the part of the brain that is involved in decision-making, empathy, impulse control and emotions. That is, conservatives are more cautious and timid, while liberals are more sincere and impulsive. It is not known whether this knowledge helped Colin Firth in preparing for the role on the film The King’s Speech, but he received an Oscar for it quite deservedly.
By the way, the actor himself refers to his image of a “real gentleman” with irony. “After my roles in Bridget Jones’s Diary and Pride and Prejudice, I was assigned the responsibility of playing the perfect men: publishers with an impeccable reputation or kings. And now girls all over the world think that all English men are always in a suit and tie. This is the reason for my popularity with women. I’ve been playing men of their own making for far too long.”
Lisa Kudrow
The actress, known to most viewers for her role as the eccentric Phoebe Buffay on Friends, published an article co-authored with her father, neurologist Lee Kudrow. The article was devoted to the connection between left-handedness and headaches. Separately studied patients who suffered from migraines and cluster pain. The authors concluded that there were no significant differences between these groups.2. At the same time, Lisa herself is left-handed and has suffered from headaches since childhood, like her father.
By the way, once Lisa Kudrow even had a chance to try on the role of a psychologist. In the sitcom Internet Therapy, launched in 2011, she plays psychotherapist Fiona Willis, who conducts sessions with clients online, and allocates only three minutes for each of them – to save time.
About her most famous character, Lisa Kudrow says: “I don’t look like Phoebe. I like her sense of humor and easy attitude to all the “horrors” that happen in her life. Yes, and in life I’m much more chaste, and Phoebe changes guys like gloves. But sometimes I miss her. She’s such a resilient optimist. I wonder why people think that if someone is always happy, then he is a fool?
Natalie Portman
The star of the films “My Blueberry Nights”, “Black Swan” and many others is known not only for her acting talents, but also for her rare intellect. In parallel with the filming of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the actress graduated from Harvard with a degree in psychology. She even had to miss the premiere in order to have time to properly prepare for the final exams. In 2002, an article with her participation was published in the journal NeuroImage, devoted to the connection between the activity of the prefrontal cortex and the emergence in the child of the idea of the permanence of objects.3. True, in the article she is listed under her real name – Hershlag. The actress took her stage name Portman from her Jewish-Russian grandmother.
The actress did not have the most pleasant memories of her student days. At that time, the star of the film “Leon” was having a hard time breaking up with her boyfriend and was in a deep depression. This Natalie Portman admitted at a recent open day at Harvard. But the celebrity ended the sad story optimistically: “The only thing you can become the best in is the knowledge and development of yourself. Never doubt yourself.”
Mayim Bialik
The actress, who plays the girlfriend of the protagonist of The Big Bang Theory, has managed to prove herself in the academic field in parallel with her acting career. In 2008, she completed her doctoral dissertation (PhD) in neuroscience. Her work was devoted to Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disease characterized by a delay in mental and speech development. Curiously, in the series, Mayim Bialik actually plays herself – a neuroscientist.
Dalai Lama
Tenjing Gyamtsho, better known as His Holiness the XNUMXth Dalai Lama, became famous not only for his Buddhist sermons and philosophical reflections. Since the 2000s, he began to actively collaborate with the psychologist, the famous researcher of emotions Paul Ekman (Paul Ekman). As a result, a book-dialogue between two thinkers was born – “The Wisdom of the East and the West”. The interlocutors exchange thoughts about the influence of spiritual practices on the psychological state, discuss experiments and techniques for managing emotions.
In 2016, Ekman and the Dalai Lama launched a new interactive project , the purpose of which is the description and study of all emotional reactions of a person. According to the spiritual leader, if people learn to be aware of their emotions, this will affect the well-being of society as a whole. “This is important not only for the sake of increasing knowledge, but also in order to become happy. From a happy family to a happy community and finally to a happy humanity.” It is enough to look at the most good-natured religious leader to make sure that his ideas work.
1 R. Kanai et al. «Political orientations are correlated with brain structure in young adults», Current Biology, 2011, vol. 21.
2 H. Messinger «Handedness and headache», Cephalalgia, 1994, vol. 14.
3 A. Baird et al. «Frontal lobe activation during object permanence: Data from near-infrared spectroscopy», NeuroImage, 2002, vol. 16.