“I believe that one of Jamaica’s greatest untapped creative resources is the incredible acting talent that resides in our beautiful little island. I think the time has come to unleash that resource. And I’m ready for the moment- and ready for the world.”

These are the words of award winning actor, comedian and former child star Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley, whose upcoming slate of projects includes  multiple live performances both in Jamaica and overseas, as well as a featured role in a major international television series co-produced by HBO and the UK’s Channel 4.

According to Daley- who will headline The Kings of Jamaican Comedy live event in Dorchester, Massachusetts on Sunday August 25 as part of Boston’s Carnival Weekend celebrations- Jamaica has excelled at the very highest level on the world stage in numerous arenas including music, athletics, fashion and beauty- but the nation’s  thespians are yet to have their big day.

“We have given the world the Marleys, Shaggys and Sean Pauls,” he says, “As well as the Usain Bolts, Asafa Powells and Shelly Ann Fraser Pryces. We have had four Miss Worlds. But in the realm of film, theatre and television performance, we have yet to fully set the world ablaze. Certainly, icons such as Sheryl Lee Ralph and the late Madge Sinclair have definitely made and continue to make an indelible mark on the acting industry. But I feel that now, we are at a moment where the interest in Jamaican stories being told by Jamaican actors has never been higher. And I’m excited to be part of that renaissance and to see what the future can bring.”

Daley is referring to the plethora of recent film and television productions which have been either partially or completely set in Jamaica, featuring Jamaican actors or actors of Jamaican descent in key roles. Among these are Netflix’s music industry drama Champion, Hulu’s Oprah Winfrey produced Black Cake, Paramount’s hit musical biopic Bob Marley-One Love and Idris Elba’s urban drama Yardie, in which Daley had a supporting role.

But he is especially excited about his upcoming appearance in the much anticipated HBO/Channel 4 television series Get Millie Black. The project is a crime drama surrounding Jamaican born detective Millie Black, formerly of Scotland Yard, who returns to Kingston to work missing persons cases for the local police force and finds herself involved in a case that could blow her world apart.

 Daley portrays no nonsense Jamaican Detective Lance Stennet, whose tense relationship with Black heightens the drama around the difficult case.

It was a role Daley coveted and according to him, “Stennet has a lot of layers. He's ambitious, tenacious and serious about policing. He’s his own man and I love the conflicts those traits bring about between him and Millie Black. I’m very happy that once again an international audience will get to see my work, and with the recent success of other productions such as Bob Marley- One Love and Black Cake, I'm hoping that the series will be a great showcase for me and many of my peers in the cast, leading to more exciting opportunities."

While he, along with the rest of the world, awaits the premiere of Get Millie Black, Daley will embark on a busy fall schedule of live performances beginning with  The Kings of Jamaican Comedy  event at  Kay's Oasis in Dorchester, Massachusetts on Sunday August 25 at 8pm. He will be joined by fellow comedians Jookie Jam and Mr. Lemon.

He will  also hit the stage at the Premier Restaurant and Lounge in Lithonia, Georgia on Sunday October 13 for Laugh A Ton, heading a lineup that also includes Fancy Cat and Kathy Grant, and then again on Sunday November 10 at the annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival in South Florida.

In Jamaica, he will appear at the Grace Food Festival in Hope Gardens on Saturday August 24 and he continues to host the Johnny Live Comedy Bar at his own venue, Johnny’s Place, every Tuesday night.

The Kingston born Daley was a mischievous primary school student when his principal one day suggested he join the school’s drama club as a leap of faith- and a way to stay out of trouble.  He won the leading role in his first school play, and was awarded the Best Actor Award by the JCDC (Jamaica Cultural Development Commission) when the play was performed in Jamaica’s Festival Drama Competition. His prize was a summer scholarship to The Jamaica School of Drama (now the Edna Manley College) and it was there that he met acting teacher and television writer Melita Samuels, who effectively changed Daley’s life.

“Melita Samuels was being commissioned at the time by JBC Television- now Television Jamaica- to write a television series about a group of residents in a small Kingston community, and it was called Lime Tree Lane,” he recalls. “She was trying to cast the role of a young boy named Johnny and she asked me to audition. I got my mother’s permission to go ahead and I won the role. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Overnight, Daley and the entire cast of Lime Tree Lane became instant celebrities and household names throughout Jamaica due to the massive popularity of the show- so much so that Daley was  permanently tagged with the name of his character ‘Johnny,’ and still uses it today.

“It became apparent to me very early on that  to most people I was always and forever going to be known as ‘Johnny’ from Lime Tree Lane, so at some point you just decide to work with it,” he laughs.

Along with singer Nadine Sutherland, Daley became arguably the most recognized child performer in Jamaican entertainment history, as he virtually grew up on Lime Tree Lane over the course of the next nine years.

He effortlessly made the transition from child star to adult actor and  now, over three decades later, has  nearly forty major stage productions to his credit in a career that has taken him all over the globe. His screen appearances include ABC TV’s Going To Extremes, feature films such as One Love co-starring Idris Elba and Ky-Mani Marley, Kingston Paradise, currently screening on Amazon Prime  and of course the upcoming Get Millie Black. En route he has worked with some of Jamaica and the Caribbean’s greatest icons- actors including Oliver Samuels and the late Leonie Forbes, directors such as the late Trevor Nairne and Alwin Bully, and playwrights Patrick Brown and the late Aston Cooke.

Among his many awards and accolades is the International Theatre Institute (Jamaica) Actor Boy Award for Best Actor- the Jamaican equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Award- for his performance in Basil Dawkins’ For Better Or Worse.

In between, he has established himself as an emcee, television and radio host and stand up comedian in such high demand that he has found it necessary to consciously carve space out for his friends and family, including his three children.

“I have missed many family gatherings and holiday link ups over the years because of the path I’ve chosen. It just comes with the territory. As I get wiser, I have learned to make that space for family time.”

That said, he is eagerly looking ahead to the future, especially with Get Millie Black on the horizon and several other Jamaican themed projects now in pre-production in Jamaica and elsewhere.

“There is a movement happening right now and you can feel it," he says. "At long last, Jamaican actors are going to start getting our due. And for me, while Jamaica will always be home, I’m willing to go wherever the work is. We’ve  been waiting for this moment for a long time. I’m going to make the most of it.”