HOLLYWOOD, Calif. —  It was the foot in the door to Hollywood that Roberto Larios always dreamed of: joining Verve Talent and Literary Agency, first as a mailroom assistant and getting a crash course in showbiz. 

“It’s empowering to start the trek to being an agent,” Larios said. 

But for Larios that trek actually started a long time before this gig. Growing up in Chicago in a first-generation Mexican-American family, film and television played a formative role. 

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“About 20 plus years ago, we went go see Selena. It was the first moment I saw someone that looked like me and sounded like me,” Larios said. “And it instilled the idea that I want to be a part of that.” 

As many children of immigrants might relate to, Larios’s parents hoped he’d follow a more predictable, secure path.

“My parents were definitely pushing me to be a lawyer saying, ‘hey that’s established,’” Larios said. 

But he was sold on entertainment and set his sights on Hollywood. With a Master’s in screenwriting and development from DePaul University, Larios joined Verve in 2018 and worked his way up from assistant to TV lit coordinator.

“I was instilled with my parents hard work ethic and as we say, ‘si se puede,’ to follow my dreams,” Larios said. 

Becoming a talent agent some day means more to him than just cutting deals and finding work for Hollywood’s next big talent. Larios said it’s about shining a spotlight on the Latin community he’s so proud to be a part of. 

“As I looked at the landscape, there are very few Latinx agents. And I wanted to be able to identify and explore diverse Latinx voices and talent,” Larios said. 

Larios said he chose Verve because it supports that push for diversity. Not only by creating opportunities for upward mobility, but by removing the barriers to access Hollywood, like increasing pay for assistants in response to the #PayUpHollywood.

Larios saw his coordinator salary go up 20 percent in January thanks to bosses like Verve partner Amy Retzinger, who has his dream job. 

“It’s exciting to see someone like Roberto wanting to do the same. And I think especially at Verve you don’t need to be well-connected and don’t need to work for the head of the company to get ahead,” Retzinger said. 

Larios is just one promotion away from the title he’s been targeting.  

“It makes me want to work harder than I already am,” Larios said. 

And until he gets there he said he’s enjoying the Hollywood journey knowing the dream is now within arm’s reach.