Studio C’s James Perry: How I Stumbled On A Purpose | James Perry | TEDxBYU

James Perry made the decision to become an engineer thinking he could pursue a career that would be useful to the world. Instead, he ended up becoming a main cast member on BYUtv’s popular original series, Studio C--a sketch-comedy show that has over 1 million subscribers and 600 million views. While the drastic career change was certainly unexpected, what surprised James most was discovering that doing something that was important to him gave him more purpose than doing something he assumed was important to the world.

James was born and raised in Sacramento, CA in a family of seven. As the middle child, he was starved for attention so naturally took to acting. In college, he stretched his acting and writing skills by joining a sketch comedy troupe, Divine Comedy. He graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from BYU in 2013. After working as a Software Engineer for a little over a year, while doing Studio C part-time, the show grew and he became a full-time actor and writer. James married his high school sweetheart, Brenna. They love traveling and finding good food. When he isn't acting, James loves tending (or eating) his organic vegetable garden and playing with their puppy, Caesar.

[sfwgmail]

It's really weird hearing this from the guy who made 3+ videos about bisque.

[ioverdidstudiocandjkstudios]

It's so weird hearing James be serious, but a good weird. I really liked what he said.

[siennarose]

Oh my gosh, its great seeing James outside of Studio C... like seeing what he thinks as an individual is very interesting! Woohoo GO STUDIO C! Who else is a full on studio C fan?!

[tartandspoongaming]

"Your not killing puppies doing what you want to do"

-James Perry, 2017

[Punnery]

I love the scissors/lawnmower analogy. Good speech!

[awkwardmonkey]

4:00 Maybe James was the inspiration behind Scott Sterling. lol

[nikkinixon]

YouTube: James Per--
Me: *smashes finger on video*

[spicycurry]

"... if you are a lawnmower, don't get a big head, because no one is ever going to trust you to cut hair..." -James Perry(Studio C)TED Talk. That is literally my senior quote. Just summited it today.

[michaelhoogendoorn]

Really enjoy James as a speaker. Well said and thank you for providing this video.

[hannahtj]

3:48 REAL SCOTT STERLING CONFIRMED! Nice talk James :)

[tawnytuppence]

This is timely advice for me. My story parallels yours: I took a crack at being a nurse (BYU grad!) for several years, but now I'm finding joy in more unconventional ways...but still formulating my new purpose. This talk is fabulous, James. Thank you! My sister and I had fun visiting with you as extras during the Kaskade sketch, btw. Best!

[babblingbrook.]

I can't believe James has had 5 majors.
BTW it's not just balls that he gets hit in the head with it's Ping-Pong paddles too. lol

[Yasmin-xkgq]

I just got here from James's vlog we watch ted talks in class all the time

[obviouslyanonymous]

"Whatever you're doing right now, you're not killing puppies" is my new favourite quote.

[KierTheScrivener]

I also suffer from the magnet head for balls and concussions. Great talk and needed to hear it.

[bee_on_garden_pea]

It's weird to hear James being serious but this was a breath of fresh air

[krysm]

I wanted him to include something about BISQUE

[kathrynehiersche]

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land upon the stars." --Norman Vincent Peale

[angeladavidson]

James, I totally get the bad at sports thing. If it makes you feel better, I got hit in the head twice during a volleyball game in gym within a span of five minutes. I must be the female Scott Sterling.

[jasonalfordjaa]

Wow James this is so inspirational! I love all of the Studio C you are in!!