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15 celebrities wanted you to see how they are when the camera's off. So they took photos.

Andrew H. Walker has photographed a lot of celebrities in his life. But at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival, he decided to try something ... different.

"[Actors] have, not only this personal inside voice, but they have a public persona that they put out there, and they also have their private self," said Walker, a staff photographer at Shutterstock, in an interview with Mashable. "There's this whole other layer of themselves as people. I found that really, really intriguing."

Walker placed a piece of tape on a table and told an impressive list of "A-list" celebrities to pose on either side of it as their "public" and their "private" selves. The only rule was that they couldn't cross the tape line, so he could composite the photos later. As for which side of the tape they "performed" their "selves" on? That was entirely up to them.

Celebrities can be (understandably) protective of their image. But Walker was surprised to find that 51 A-listers were willing and eager to go along with his plan.

The 15 photos that follow are just a few of the highlights that show a surprising difference between their public and private personas — although which one is which, we can't say for certain.

1. Sigourney Weaver was literally born into the entertainment industry.

But just because she's good at being in front of the camera, doesn't mean that's where she always wants to be.

[rebelmouse-image 19519426 dam="1" original_size="750x536" caption="All photos by Andrew H. Walker/ShutterStock. Used with permission." expand=1]All photos by Andrew H. Walker/ShutterStock. Used with permission.

2. Then there's John Legend, who's clearly worked hard to write and produce so many signature grooves.

Legend's somber expression is a powerful reminder that funky rhythms aren't all fun and games when you're cooped up in the studio for days on end.

3. As for Jeffrey Tambor — well, he's got a bit of a Clark Kent vibe goin' on.

I'm not sure which one is the public and which one is the private face. Because other than the glasses, there's not that much of a difference. Which might also be the point.

4. Parker Posey is in a similar, albeit quirkier, boat.

Which one is the real Parker Posey?! I can't tell because they're both just so eccentrically cool, and so ... her.

5. Meanwhile, Oscar Isaac needs a coffee.

He's a busy guy, and those 14-hour days on set can sure get exhausting.

6. Sometimes Lupita Nyong'o is beaming. Other times, she's just stunned.

Her brilliant smile certainly has a way of lighting up the red carpet. At the same time, I can totally understand if her expression on the right is how she feels inside during those events.

7. Perhaps Amy Adams isn't always the stunning debutante.

Or maybe she's really happier than her dramatic roles let on? Sometimes the spotlight's appeal starts to fade when you're right at the center of it.

8. Even silver fox Richard Gere shies away from the attention he receives.

(But like, c'mon, he's still having fun with this either way.)

9. Sandra Oh seems like she's either distracted or totally overwhelmed.

If you've ever been thrust in front of countless lights and cameras, you know that both emotions are a valid response. Or maybe her expression on the right is the way she looks in those awkward moments when she gets stopped on the street?

10. And there's Rami Malek, who ... is as wide-eyed and aloof as I'd expect.

No wonder he's so good on "Mr. Robot." Unless ... maybe one of his personas in this picture actually is the real Mr. Robot? Plot twist! Hey, where's Christian Slater?

11. As for Jane Lynch, she's always a bit wacky and performative.

Frankly I'd expect nothing less of her.

12. Whether he's upright or relaxing, Chadwick Boseman can't seem to shake that natural steely gaze.

He has the shy, stoic look of a performer with the proper introspection to transform into someone else entirely whenever he's on-camera. No wonder he's so good!

13. Is Felicity Jones that much more chipper than the roles she plays?

Or is she actually more reserved than she appears while smiling on-screen — like she's done ever since she was just 12 years old? Your guess is as good as mine.

14. Even Mahershala Ali has two sides of himself to show the world.

Here's another star who looks like he revels in performing himself, in whatever way that he is today. One thing's for sure: He's a lot less intimidating here than he was in "Luke Cage."

15. And last, but certainly not least, there's Anne Hathaway.

Hathaway has had to deal with all the ups and downs of being both beloved and reviled by the general public, which is perhaps why her two different personas here show such a wide range of expression — and all the struggles that come along with being a person.

Walker's work here is an eye-opening look at the many faces that people put on.

We all have different ways of presenting ourselves in different situations — to our jobs, to our friends, to our families, and to ourselves. We even act differently when we're in front of a camera, perhaps especially when we're trying to show off who we think we really are.

It only makes sense that these celebrities would be the same way since they're people too. But the question still remains: Which one shows their "true" self?

Maybe there's not just one right answer to that. Maybe we're all multifaceted, with our own unique collection of personas, just like these celebrities. And maybe that's totally OK. Because maybe that's what makes us human.

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5 everyday ways to teach your kids about consent.

Sexual consent can be tough to explain to young kids. But this psychotherapist has some advice.

My daughter and I are waiting in the exam room for the pediatrician. We are here for her annual wellness checkup.

And from the moment our pediatrician walks through the door, she is all about focusing on my daughter. She looks my daughter in the eyes and kindly greets her. She shakes her hand. She addresses my daughter with her questions. She explains what we’ll be doing today.

Image via iStock.

And the pediatrician asks for consent. She asks, "May I listen to your heartbeat now?"

As a psychotherapist, I’m tuned into the ways in which our pediatrician is communicating this message to our daughter: "I regard you as a human being," "You matter," and "Your body is to be regarded."

This is very different from a routine doctor’s visit at a different office I had many years ago with my son, though.

During that visit, the pediatrician rushed through the exam. He didn’t look at my son or address him. The nurse came in with the immunizations and said, "Hold him down. It’s better if we do this fast without him knowing what’s coming. He won’t remember this."

As a mom, I knew my son. As a body-centered psychotherapist, I knew that his nervous system would remember this experience. And I knew that conditions like that can cause an experience to be traumatic for a young person. "No," I said. "I know what my son needs. I need to talk to him first and explain what we are doing."

That day, we didn’t rush, we didn’t surprise him, we didn’t hold him down, and we didn’t give him a treat for "not crying." I showed my son regard by honoring what I knew he needed.

Parents: Teaching sexual consent to our children begins with us.

Every parent I know wants their child to grow up to be confident, be resilient, feel good about who they are, and show compassion toward others. As parents, we want to communicate: "You matter. Your body matters. Your consent and boundaries matter."

Image via iStock.

This is regard, and it begins the moment our children are born. We communicate messages that help our children form their self-concept and sense of self-worth. And they learn how to interact with themselves and others through our regard for their bodies, emotions, opinions, and personhood.

With regard as your foundation, here are five everyday ways you can teach your children about sexual consent:

1. Ask for their consent often.

Last night, my son and I were walking home from the park. I went to reach for his hand, but then I stopped myself and asked him, "Can I hold your hand?" He smiled at me and reached out.

Asking for your child’s permission to touch them or come into their personal space can be this simple. You can ask such questions as: "May I brush your hair?" "Can I have a hug?" and "Is it OK if I hold your hand?"

Does this mean you have to ask for their consent every time? As parents, we want to be intentional about what we are doing and why we are doing it.

Imagine your children as teenagers going out with friends with hundreds — if not thousands — of experiences at home where you modeled consent day after day. They will be more likely to respond to any situation with regard for their bodies, and they will be more likely to regard others’ bodies and ask for consent, too.

2. Teach them that their "no" matters.

A client came to me because she was feeling distant from her 12-year-old daughter. And in working together, we eventually realized that her daughter wanted more regard for her personal space, time, and boundaries.

So she started to look for ways she could ask, rather than demand, that her daughter engage with her. Instead of saying, "Give me a hug goodbye," she would ask her daughter, "Can I have a hug goodbye?" And on the days her daughter said "no" or her body language indicated "no," she would say, "That’s cool. If you ever want a hug, I’m here. I love you. Have a great day."

If you ask to brush your daughter’s hair, and she says "no," it's so important to regard her "no." If you ask to hug your son, and he says "no," regard his "no," too. You could reply with, "OK, I respect that. Let me know if you change your mind."

Image via iStock.

It's also OK if your child doesn’t want to hug anyone at all. They can still respectfully greet others with a sincere acknowledgment of "hello."

When you or anyone else begs or tries to convince a child to change their answer now, they learn to override their inner barometer of what feels comfortable and what doesn’t feel comfortable just to give in to someone who they perceive has more power. Over time, you respecting their "no" teaches your children that their "no" matters.

3. Model to your child that "yes" can become "no" at any time.

Let’s say you are gently wrestling with your young child, and she says, "Stop!" What do you do? You stop. Even if she is joking, you stop and check in with her.

Let’s say you have a group of elementary-school-aged boys over your house, and they are running around with swords and roughhousing. Teach them to pause the game every so often and check in with each other to see if the game is going OK for everyone.

And if you have a tween or teenager? Have "the conversation." As you share about sexual intimacy based on your family’s values, include communicating to them that the absence of "no" is not "yes." Teach them that a "yes" can turn into a "no" at any time.

When you model to your child that "yes" can become "no" at any time in everyday experiences, you are sending the message "at any point when you feel uncomfortable or have had enough in any situation, you are to listen to that inner voice. And at any point another person feels uncomfortable and has had enough, you are to respect them and stop what you are doing."

4. Seek to understand.

This past spring, my daughter announced, "I don’t want to take gymnastics anymore!" I was confused. I thought she loved gymnastics. I had put a lot of thought and effort into finding the right place for her. But instead of saying to her: "Yes, you do! I know you do!" I said, "Tell me about it."

Image via iStock.

This opened the door for my daughter to feel comfortable to share what she was feeling and for me to listen to her. I came to understand that actually she loved gymnastics, but what she really loved was doing gymnastics on her own at home and making up routines rather than being in a structured class.

When you seek to understand your child, you communicate the message: "Your opinion matters. Your voice matters. Your feelings matter. And I’m here to listen and be alongside you." Even if you think your child is playing around or sharing an opinion out of frustration, when you seek to understand, you are connecting to your child with regard.

5. Keep "regard" at the forefront of your mind.

Our children have their own bodies, minds, feelings, opinions, and dreams. Just like adults, our children want to be regarded, listened to, and respected. So ask for your child’s opinion. Speak your child’s name in a way that is regarding. Look at your child when he or she is talking. These are everyday ways that you can communicate the message "You matter."

We are our children’s first teachers.

The recent Stanford sexual assault case reminded me, yet again, that we have work to do as a culture when it comes to teaching our children about sexual consent.

As parents, it can feel scary to broach loaded and triggering topics like sexual consent. However, these simple, everyday actions can empower us to show regard to our children in our daily lives. And as our children experience our regard in everyday ways, they are more likely to regard themselves and other people’s bodies and integrity, too.

No matter the age of your child, you can support your child being a confident, resilient, compassionate (to self and others) person by choosing to look at, talk to, and be with your child. You can support your child’s future by the regard you show them today.

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6 unexpected and life-changing things I learned while living in a monastery.

One man explains what it's really like to live in a monastery.

In 2010, a medication-resistant form of epilepsy terrorized me.

Facing the prospect of a near-permanent state of illness, I longed for respite. I needed something — anything — to calm me down.

I had been reading the works of Christian and Buddhist monks for years, but I had never actually visited a monastery.

So I decided in a moment of panic: Why not take a retreat to a monastic community?

I knew there were some monasteries in the U.S. that invited guests to visit, so I contacted a monastery I had been following and arranged for a five-day retreat.

The view from the retreat center at the monastery. Photo by Tim Lawrence, used with permission.

During my first visit, I found myself surrounded by some of the most loving men I had ever encountered. To my delight, many of my epileptic symptoms subsided during my stay, too. I wasn’t cured by any means, but the lack of stress and centering nature of the monastery seemed to temporarily clothe me in a blanket of inner peace that I desperately needed.

And after the first retreat, I longed to have the chance to experience what this monastic life was truly like for more than a few days. After several more short retreats, I came across a program at a monastery in Boston that allowed just that.

With a handful of young people, I prepared to live alongside monks for nine months.

When I walked into the monastery on that first day, I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect. But by the time I left, I couldn't imagine my life without that time spent at the monastery.

The experience both frustrated me and blew me away: It forced me to confront my fears, examine my motivations, and take stock of how I really lived my life in a way that no other experience ever had.

Here are a few of the things I learned:

1. Living in silence is really powerful.

After the last service of the day, called the Greater Silence, complete silence was observed for 12 hours until the morning. Although the community members did speak during the day, both the monks and residents were encouraged to keep our speaking to a minimum in order to preserve an atmosphere of mindfulness and refuge for both the community and its guests.

Unexpectedly, this quiet is what I have missed most since leaving.

At the monastery, I was more present in the moment. When my dear friend Amelia lost a loved one, I found myself far more available to her. When my friend Daniel and I found ourselves with the opportunity to talk for extended periods of time during breaks at the monastery, we spoke to each other more slowly, and with far more honesty, than we normally would in the outside world.

What I learned is that silence forced me to change because I was actually living differently. I became more confident because I was less inclined to seek out the approval of others through empty words. I also chose my words carefully when I did speak, and I spoke with more authority.

2. I felt less lonely than I thought I would.

I initially worried that being cloistered at the monastery would cause me to be intensely lonely. However, although I was disconnected from the outside world for much of the time, I felt less lonely than I had in the "real world."

Why? I think it’s because the monastic community nourished me and loved me with abandon. The fact that I felt so grounded much of the time was a testament to the power of people actively connecting with one another, with intention.

3. Living minimally was freeing.

I had been living as a nomad with few possessions before I went to the monastery, but I had never embraced anything resembling a vow of poverty. And although I wasn’t obligated to partake in a formal vow of poverty, I still chose to live as simply as possible while I was there.

When you live with few possessions in a sparse, basic cell, your need for "things" dissipates rapidly. You become more adaptable, and you find that rather than trying to attain more, you learn to want what you already have. I found this to be liberating and beautiful.

4. Giving up some personal freedom for the sake of community wasn’t stifling.

In our rampantly individualistic culture, it’s easy to prize personal freedom above all else. Yet when you live in community, the needs of the community are placed above the desires of the individual. This was incredibly challenging and freeing for me because I was often asked to forego some of my own desires for the sake of the community.

I couldn’t dash off whenever I wanted, and I was expected to be present for all community activities, so I had to become willing to sacrifice some of my own selfishness in order to serve my peers. I was a part of something larger than myself, and that meant that I had to shed some of my self-absorption for the sake of others every single day.

5. My appreciation of time shifted.

The writer Sarah Manguso has said, "Time isn’t made of moments; it contains moments. There is more to it than moments."

I never understood this until I saw it in the monastery. In monastic life there’s always a "next thing" — another activity to devote one’s focus to over and over again. Whether I was chanting or eating a meal, I was expected to be fully present there, and then to let it go once it was over. Because the days were so structured, I was forced to become one with the moments I was experiencing; the "next thing" always demanded my full attention.

Time is taken more seriously as a resource in a monastery, which is something I took with me after I left.

6. Most of the spiritual "myths" about monasteries aren’t true.

I quickly found that many of my assumptions about monastic life were wrong. Contrary to what some people might think, living with monks isn’t a series of mountaintop experiences where you’re free to deepen your spirituality unimpeded by the difficulties of daily life.

In fact, the grind of life can be even more present in a monastery because everyone is expected to contribute in a series of repetitive duties. Monastic life is rhythmical, and monks hold that rhythm sacred. All services, meals, and chores are held at specific times with only occasional deviation.

To my surprise, this rhythm served as a great catalyst for personal transformation, though. In monastic life, I was taught not to separate "spiritual" time from "normal" time but to explore the vagaries of my spiritual life precisely when I was doing mundane, trivial work. This turned out to not only be enriching but life-changing.

My moments of greatest peace and transcendence came when I was cleaning out a kitchen or raking leaves or sitting in a chapel, alone, reflecting on my infinitesimal place in the world.

I learned to feel adequate in what could easily be described as an inadequate setting.

The transition out of the monastery wasn’t easy.

I left early because of my epilepsy; the long 16-hour days took a toll on me. I remember going to New York shortly after leaving and feeling a strong sense of panic: I was panicked because everyone else seemed so panicked. Society seemed strained to me, and I had a difficult time adjusting to "civilian life" again.

It took a few months to find my footing and to retain my monastic identity in a world that seems to place so much value on what monasticism has little need for — namely: status, wealth, and success.

But shortly before I left, the wisest monk I know told me something that made me weep, something that I will take with me everywhere: He said that I was a walking miracle.

This stopped me in my tracks because his words showed that he had chosen to love me as unconditionally as an imperfect, fragile human is capable of. This is a rare thing.

Me with the superior at the monastery. Photo via Tim Lawrence, used with permission.

My experience in the monastery revealed more of our human ability to love and be loved than I've ever seen before.

I was forced to evaluate how I related to the world not just for a day, but continually. I didn’t rise above all of my weaknesses or transform my entire life, but that was OK. I am deeply indebted to my fellow brothers and residents for caring for me so thoroughly.

In the end, I found the courage to experience being alive differently. The change was subtle yet profound, and I will carry that with me forever.

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There's now a campaign to add 13 more women emojis. Here's why it matters.

Who doesn't love emojis?

They're so useful and versatile! You can use them to react perfectly to almost any situation, cryptically label a Venmo payment, and even rap the entirety of a Kanye West song.

They're fun, adorable, and still relevant, despite parents everywhere overusing the :poop-emoji: out of them.


Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.

Emojis are used to symbolize ideas, objects, places, and, of course, people. But it's people that emojis aren't always the best at representing.

As long as there have been emojis, there have been campaigns to expand and diversify them so that more groups of people are included.

For the most part, those campaigns have been successful; different skin tones were added to help represent people of different races, same-sex couples and families were added to help represent people of different sexual orientations, and last summer, a taco emoji was added because tacos.

Yup. Emoji cookies. Photo via Rosanna Pansino/YouTube.

Despite several inclusive expansions to the basic emoji library, one gap has stubbornly remained: emojis for women.

More specifically, emojis for women who want to be depicted as more than a bride, a princess, a flamenco dancer, or twin Playboy bunnies.

There's also an emoji of a woman with her hand raised next to her face like she's carrying an invisible cocktail tray. I was never quite sure what was up with her, but a quick search in the Emojipedia (because that's a thing) shows that her official name is Information Desk Person. So ... she's a secretary.

While those emojis are very useful for brides, princesses, flamenco dancers, Playboy bunnies, and information desk people, there's a lot of women out there who aren't those things and therefore aren't represented on the emoji keyboard.

Men on the other hand get to be police officers, (napping?) construction workers, royal guardsmen, detectives, Santa Clauses, and Tom Selleck. Not to mention, and I promise I am not making this up: There's even an emoji for the niche audience of levitating businessmen. Regardless, when it comes to emoji, men have options.

The lack of female representation in emojis is not a new observation, either.

Just two months ago, Always created a campaign highlighting the need for more girl-powered emojis, and people have been pointing out the specific lack of professional women in emojis for a while.

Photo via Always/YouTube.

Now though, something is actually being done about it.

Google has handed in an official bid to add more professional women to the list of official emojis.

The 10 page proposal would add 13 emojis for different careers, including a doctor, a scientist, a mechanic, and a college graduate.

"No matter where you look, women are gaining visibility and recognition as never before," says Google. "Isn’t it time that emoji also reflect the reality that women play a key role in every walk of life and in every profession?"

Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.

Google also noted that, when you consider that women are the most frequent users of emojis, it's ludicrous to think that they're still so underrepresented.

Yes, emoji are just little cartoon faces. But this matters because people are exposed to emojis at younger and younger ages.

Texting is the primary method of communication amongst young people. That means more and more young women and men are scrolling through emojis and only seeing women depicted as princesses and secretaries.

Whether you believe it or not, that sends a message.

Photo by Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images.

Consider the gender gap in STEM jobs, for example. Or the lack of female CEOs. Wouldn't it be great if girls saw images of themselves as scientists, engineers, and businesswomen within their primary method of communication? Wouldn't it be great if boys grew up seeing women depicted as their equals and not just their secretaries and wives?

Sure it's a small step in a huge problem, but it could be a really important one. Representation matters, and we use those little cartoon faces to represent ourselves all the time. It's only right that they represent all of us.

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