Young Jamaican actor Kevoy Burton says the sudden death of fellow entertainer Christopher McFarlane has sent shockwaves throughout the entire theatre fraternity. 

Burton, in an interview with Our Today this morning (September 12), hailed the Clarendon native as one of the most talented actors to ever grace the Jamaican stage. 

McFarlane, a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, died over the weekend after a brief illness. Many within the space, including Dahlia Harris, have not taken McFarlane’s death well.

Caan tek no more. Chris.

— Dahlia Harris (@DahliaHarris) September 10, 2022

“Chris is somebody I have worked with a couple of times, one of the first people I worked with as a young actor actually. In my very first film, Ghett’a Life, he played the villain Don Sin,” Burton began.

“You know, he was someone who encouraged my journey from the get-go. He started out early and so he wanted to guide young people,” he told Our Today.

Burton, who is currently a brand manager for Jamaican-owned restaurant Jamrock in Ghana’s capital Accra, opined that the local arts scene has suffered a great loss following the passing of McFarlane.

“We have a very close-knit Whatsapp group in the acting space with him [McFarlane] and the news came in that group early. I heard he was dead. I didn’t even know he was sick. It’s a big shock to us. It’s a big, big loss,” he said.

“Christopher McFarlane is one of the most genius actors that Jamaica has ever seen. Obviously, he didn’t spread his wings outside of Jamaica but I think Chris was someone who could have done it with ease. He was an absolutely brilliant actor. Easy to work with. Quick-witted, easy to learn, easygoing, jovial—you wanted to be around him. It was really fun working with Christopher and I know a lot of people in the acting industry will definitely miss Chris,” Burton added.

McFarlane’s acting credits spanned much of his teens and adult years, with the 45-year-old appearing in films, television series and plays across Jamaica. 

McFarlane is a two-time Actor Boy winner.

Their last film together, Joseph, which premiered on Jamaican silver screens in 2020, saw McFarlane play the role of Christopher King, father of Burton’s on-screen protagonist, Joseph King. 

Conceding he was not as close to him as others were, for Burton, one interaction he will always revisit with gratitude is McFarlane’s encouraging words when he first considered “the big move” from Jamaica to Ghana. 

“Chris was someone I discussed moving to Ghana with. He encouraged me 100 per cent to chase my dreams,” he told Our Today.

Expressing disappointment that McFarlane’s talent was not experienced by others beyond Jamaica’s shores, Burton added: “He could have been epic outside of Jamaica.”