Actor Chris McFarlane is all smiles as he walks into the Observer’s office.

His pleasant demeanour is a stark contrast to the villain he portrays in Chris Browne’s current flick, Ghett’A Life.

On screen, he is evil personified and you can’t help but detest him and feel totally satisfied when he receives what he had coming his way all along.

Being hated is something McFarlane is getting used to in the few weeks since the movie has been showing on the Palace circuit.

“Everybody hates me, but I’ve never seen so many smiles with it. How can you hate with so much love?” commented the actor after he went to Carib 5 to view the movie along with the many who flocked to see it.

“I was literally mobbed outside,” he said, adding that they all came up to him declaring their ‘hatred’ and then hugging him to say how much they loved the show!

Playing the role so convincingly for McFarlane all came about because he ‘put himself in the situation and then became the character’.

“I am not a method actor,” he declared, adding “I approach from the psychological perspective, doing a mental status examination of the character, so I can place him in society and play him effectively.”

There is no doubt that McFarlane accomplished his task, the reactions his character generated from viewers is testament of that fact.

Today, McFarlane is basking in his success as an actor, but his road to this path all started in 1993 from the advice given to him by his drama teacher Mavis Granston while a student at Lennon High School in Clarendon.

“She said to me in the final year of school ‘Chris when you leave Lennon, School of Drama is the place for you’.”

Acting on her words of wisdom, McFarlane did just that and today, he is now reaping the fruits of the years invested in training.

While a second year student at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts McFarlane copped an Actor Boy Award for his role in the school’s production of Dennis Scott’s An Echo in the Bone.

But breaking into the theatre stream wasn’t as easy as McFarlane thought so after leaving drama school he found employment with Sandals Negril as an entertainment coordinator.

While there he was contacted by David Heron who was doing a production called Against His Will.

It proved to be a challenging role for McFarlane as at the time he was in his mid-20s and he was playing a 50-year-old lawyer, Lincoln Jacobs.

“That was my first introduction to commercial theatre and I didn’t like it one bit,” McFarlane recalled with a chuckle.

The experience proved a rude awakening for him as he realised the role could make or break him.

“This was work and I didn’t like the fact that other people’s reputation were at stake,” he said; adding that working with seasoned actors meant you had to conform, plus there was the workload and the high expectations from him. The thought of quitting, he says, was entertained more than once in his mind.

“I didn’t quit, I just plowed ahead and soon I began to get comfortable and get over my insecurities — I realised I loved acting and when you love something you just don’t give up on it,” McFarlane said.

If he ever had any doubt about his acting skills they were allayed on opening night of Against His Will by the positive energy he got from the audience.

Since then Chris has acted in productions such as Basil Dawkins’ Forbidden, No Disrespect, Jamaica 2 Rhatid, Country Duppy and more recently a recurring role in Dahlia Harris’ Judgment.

While playing the role in Mi and Mi Kru, he found out that the Chris Browne, who was also involved in that same production as the director of photography, was looking for an actor to play the role of Don Sin in Ghett’A Life.

“It is the role of a lifetime for any actor,” commented McFarlane who wasted no time in ensuring he auditioned for it, resulting in the effective portrayal of the character.

With the movie now out McFarlane says it was a beautiful experience working with his fellow cast members.

“It was a pleasure working with both young and older veterans such as Carl Davis, Teddy Price, Winston ‘Bello’ Bell — people I’ve watched all my life — to see the enthusiasm on the faces of the young and to see them living their dream that was something else too,” he said.

“My pleasure is to watch what it’s doing for them. I always wanted to be in a movie, seeing the kids enjoying the luxuries I never had so early, it was worth it,” McFarlane shared, adding that he sees a big bright future for Jamaica’s film industry.

What’s next for the talented actor? “I’m just gonna go with the wind and open myself to whatever possibilities are out there.”