We recently connected with Sterling Boyns and have shared our conversation below.

Sterling, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

One of the best investments I made was on my first commercial headshots. I signed with my first talent agent a few years ago and they were a dream team. In the hiring packet, they included a list of recommended commercial photographers and classes. At the time, I was fairly new to LA and was seeking out photographers and classes, so receiving this knowledge from my reps was divine timing.

Of course, the rates of the photographers weren’t cheap. And in perfect irony, I happened to take a liking to the most expensive one. Although his pricing was daunting, I believed that he had the best quality shots and his lighting was impeccable. I didn’t want to compromise and choose a “plan B”. I wanted what I thought was the best for me.

I could’ve discouraged myself by saying, “it’s too much money…I don’t have the funds…I can’t do this.” The excuses could go on and on. But instead of telling myself, “I couldn’t afford it”, I asked “HOW can I afford this?” That opened up my brain to thinking of options, rather than shutting down in defeat.

For the next 2-3 months, I decided to aside a certain percentage of my paycheck and reserved it for headshots. Once I had enough, I booked an appointment with the photographer. After my completed session, my agents took my new photos and uploaded them to my casting accounts.

Within a couple of days, I was getting 4-5 auditions a week, which led to callbacks, which led to bookings. Prior, I was receiving maybe one every 1-2 weeks.

By the end of the year, in acting income, I made fifty times the original amount of what my headshots cost.

The beauty about investing is that there is a confident expectation that you will get a return. You will reap what you sow. You will always be rewarded for choosing your dreams in a society that attempts to persuade you to settle.

No one can want it for you more than you want it for yourself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I knew I wanted to be an actor since I was three years old. Less than a decade later, that dream came to fruition when I took my first acting class at twelve and shortly after got cast in my first stage musical. It was THE WIZ and I was the only black person in the production.
Shockingly, after that experience, I still had the “acting bug” and didn’t look back.

I continued taking classes and performing in plays/musicals in high school and got my BFA in acting at The University of Arizona. After graduation, I did a year-long residency at a local repertory called The Rogue Theatre, where I performed in plays such as ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART 1: MILENNIUM APPROACHES and MACBETH. In 2017, I moved to New York City to develop my acting career onstage and film. It was there that I co-directed, co-produced and starred in a short called THIS MUST BE THE PLACE.

Three years later, I moved to Los Angeles to hone in on film/tv. My self-directed film got accepted into a few local film festivals, one of them being at the prestigious Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. My gifts expanded in improv, poetry, writing my first screenplay and booking my first audiobook narration gig. The title of the book was innocently called A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS. It was also here that I signed with my first talent agency and began booking nationwide commercials.

When I’m not on set, you’ll still find me writing, hanging with friends in Hawai’i and/or traveling to do short-term, Christian mission trips.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I’m a people-oriented person. I find it fulfilling when I get opportunities to dive deep into the human condition and experience, learning and discovering what we do and why we do it, socially, culturally and psychologically.

When a person says, “You haven’t walked a mile in my shoes”, my response is always, “Well, give me your shoes.” I want to know the in’s and out’s of what makes them them. I run towards it, not away.

I desire to know the joys, fears, dreams, obstacles, victories, regrets and humor within a person. Trying to understand it all through their life is rewarding to me.

Playing different characters from all walks of life has increased my empathy, compassion and understanding of humanity.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Jesus. He is the beginning, middle and end.

My faith is my firm foundation from which everything in my life flows from. When I discovered that I wasn’t put on this earth by happenstance, but I was made for a purpose and have a specific calling and assignments on my life, my clarity sharpened and my focus became unwavered. My life mission is to know Jesus and make Him known. To Love and be Loved.

Through comedy, drama, sci-fi, westerns, the list goes on…my objective is to produce authentic, multi-faceted, truthful characters and stories that are complex, nuanced and at the end lead to hope.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @scboyns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterling-boyns-749110140/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sterlingboyns4883

Image Credits

Robert Flate