Meet Paul Starosciak | Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paul Starosciak and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk to me is defined as “uncertainty.” So, to undertake any risk, it just means that you are willing to move forward at something that is uncertain or unseen.

Faith is attitude of heart that helps with things that are unseen! So, I view it like a conversation between anxiety, hope, and faith…what do we have to lose? What do we have to gain? How close can we get before it’s the point of commitment? How can we get in by a different angle?

I spent a decade coaching girls Gymnastics. Fear was always an obstacle to overcome. The risk of injury was always present and fear/anxiety would indicate that. However, fear is only one voice in the assembly. We would take fear into consideration but also break down the skills into more manageable chunks or drills. That way the risk could be handled like Lego bricks (motifs). This process was very successful and can be used in every aspect of life.

Surveying risks takes a great deal of curiosity. I’m always asking myself, “what’s over there?”, “what if we did it this way instead?” or “what would happen if we just tried something?” If you know that the first shot at something is going to help you learn how to take the next one, it gets easier!

Risk taking also involves a special relationship with “failure.” If you have a good relationship with failure then you can see it as a great teacher. So, make your failures count and learn your lessons!

If you can learn lessons from someone else’s failures then you are wise. So pay attention! Lastly on that, if you don’t have a good relationship to failure then take smaller steps towards your goals. Progressively seek things you are bad at without blaming others and you’ll get accustomed to it. Increase you tolerance to frustration!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being an artist is tough! I’m an actor so a lot of work involves planning for and auditioning different characters for film and commercials.

There’s not a lot of feedback from casting directors so a lot of times it feels like you’re shooting in the dark. Maybe you get a callback, maybe you won’t.

So, you need to separate public appreciation of your art from your identity otherwise you’ll never make it.

I try to overcome my challenges by focusing on progress that I can see. So, if I can perform a scene better today than I did yesterday then I’m doing a good job.

I focus on my weaknesses because if I know that I’m bad at something in one aspect then I can make a plan to improve it. It’s a constant process of demolishing the old and rebuilding the new.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think we’d probably cook breakfast in the morning and talk about the day. We’d go out for a hike and then drive around to find a spot for lunch (Little Five!). Then we’d get dressed up and see the city life for a play, movie, and dinner!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow! There’s a lot of people that have supported me. Certainly My parents, Barb and Paul (Sr) Starosciak. Brett Schaberg and Gaelle Gillis really helped me when I was starting out. I’ve had support from my friends and acting community. Everyone has been very encouraging.

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/paulstar

Image Credits
Esdras Luna