Life & Work with Sterling Boyns

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sterling Boyns. 

Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
At three years old, I told my family I was going to be an actor and move to New York City. Twenty years later, in 2017, that prophecy came to fruition.

I resided in that city until 2020. In the beginning of that year, my career was slowly taking off when I booked two, back-to-back theatre gigs. However, as covid began rapidly spreading, the shows were canceled, I was let go from my day job and all of my community meetups became virtual. My whole life was stripped from me, so I felt no purpose in staying there anymore. It was around mid-March that I felt a deep conviction to book a one-way flight to Arizona to be with my family.

While in Arizona, I was able to deeply reflect on my time in NY. My creative career was nowhere close to panning out the way I imagined. I felt like I produced very little fruit from the massive work efforts I put in and multiple seeds I planted. The ratio was drastically off putting and I wrestled with God about it. I never doubted my creative endeavors because I knew that it was a God-given gift and purpose in my life. Thus, it was not a question of if I’m on the right career path, but when I would be able to get consistent work as an actor.

I spent an immense amount of time in prayer and solitude – yearning to obtain spiritual direction and clarity. A few weeks later was when God told me that my days in New York were numbered and placed LA on my heart. For years, I always knew I would end up in LA long-term for film/tv, but I didn’t know when nor did I have a strong interest in establishing a life there. The pandemic was the first time I had the desire to do so. It was cemented in my spirit and I couldn’t shake it off. I sensed that that chapter was going to occur soon so I moved with urgency.

In July, I left Arizona and moved back to my apartment in New York for four months to give the city and my friends a proper goodbye. My lease ended Nov 1st and that’s when I packed my bags and, in the middle of a whole pandemic, moved to the City of Angels.

I’ve been here for two years and haven’t looked back. In this short amount of time, I’ve had the privilege of taking multiple acting classes and workshops, booked some modeling gigs, got my first talent agent and booked eight commercials in six months. I also just finished writing my first screenplay and am diving into voiceover/narration work.

Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Chasing my dream has been an arduous road filled with cracks, chipping and potholes.

I knew being an artist was a promise in my life and I expected to encounter problems along the way. I experienced rejection, discouragement, uncertainty, confusion and starting over. There were a good amount of moments where I had no financial stability and balanced multiple hustle jobs to make ends meet whilst squeezing in auditions throughout the week. Living this out did come with some people in my life not fully understanding or supporting my choices to pursue this career.

I am not speaking as a victim nor do I want people to express remorse over me. What I am saying is that being obedient and following the path that God ordained in my life has, naturally, come at a cost. It wasn’t easy. But I found that the most agonizing journeys often have the most beautiful destinations.

The obstacles that I faced did not break me – they built me. The rejection I experienced increased my endurance and the discouragement turned into perseverance. Even though I started over, I didn’t start over from the same place. I was resilient, stronger, wiser, more patient and at peace. I no longer worked from a place of fatigue, attempting to possess what I wanted, but from a place of rest, working toward what I knew was already mine. Discovering that truth shifted my mindset and changed my heart posture.

This transformational journey has made me realize that my internal character development is just as important, if not more, than my external creative gifts. My art has blessed me with new opportunities, but it’s my heart that has sustained me and allows me to handle those opportunities with grace and strength.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Actor. Writer. Filmmaker. Audiobook Narrator. Foodie-r. 

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Creators: network across, not up. If you wait to get to an “ideal” place in your career to begin developing your own projects, you’ll never start. Don’t wait until you have strong connections with top executives and a never-ending stream of cash flow to finance it. Find artists who are right beside you in the trenches and collaborate with them. You’d be surprised how many individuals are out there who are just as hungry and ambitious as you are, if not more.

A great story I love to share is when my friend and I decided to create our own short film titled THIS MUST BE THE PLACE. We did not have any money to fund it and, outside of acting in front of the screen, did not know much about filmmaking. All we had was an unshakeable vision and a strong desire to create our own yes in an industry that gives out so many no’s. After brainstorming a solid idea, we told a writer friend about it and she generously wrote our script. The cast and crew we hired were our friends who are masters in their respective creative fields. In pitching the idea to them, we were honest about letting them know that we unfortunately did not have the funds to pay them, but would feed them on set. Because they saw our integrity and believed in our vision, they hopped on board! My co-creator and I chose our respective apartments and jobs for filming locations. We directed, produced and performed in it.

Of course, there were some conundrums in the process (problems attached to the promise, remember?). The pandemic abruptly ended filming and some of us moved out of The Big Apple. We had only shot about 70% of the script and with the footage we did have, we were missing some audio files and filmed scenes. We could’ve allowed the shattered pieces to stay on the floor, but instead, decided to pick them up and mold it into something beautiful. During lockdown, my co-creator tried his hand at editing the remaining scenes and turning it into a movie. In the end, we had a 20-minute short.

I had the final product in my hands in LA. I wrestled a bit with the idea of submitting it to film festivals because, with all of the challenges we faced making it, I wasn’t sure if it was a “good enough” contender. However, I shortly came to the conclusion that it would be better to at least try than not try at all. I didn’t want to devalue all of our hard work and I knew that this film had a life-changing message in it. I decided not to block my blessing and submitted it to six local festivals. It got accepted into three. It was my first festival circuit and the fact that it was a self-made project made it all the more special. I met more creatives than I could count, made some great connections and established deep friendships. Both the filmmaking process and festival run were unexpected rewards and experiences that I will never forget.

We are living in a renaissance of storytelling. In this digital age, nearly everyone a given audience. I encourage you to do it yourself and utilize the resources you currently have. That’s all you need. Don’t wait on higher ups to greenlight a vision that you have the power to execute now.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sterlingboyns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scboyns/?next=%2F
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVTxSzqBrJa_9vChtKOIJug
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8783716/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Image Credits
Rob Flate