Cornelius Grant finding success behind the camera

Anyone who pays attention to dancehall music videos would know Cornelius Grant.

He may not (yet) have been nominated for an Actor Boy Award or any other accolade, but Grant is a well-known actor and director - particularly popular for his frequent appearances in music videos.

But when an actor has played enough roles, they start envisioning their own stories, framing their own scenes. Grant did just that - moving from the frame into the director's chair.

For his debut film, Kill Dem All And Done, a passion project for his Waterhouse community, Grant counts 1.5 million views on YouTube.

It was originally uploaded to YouTube in 2012, and hit the million mark in 2014.

Grant was approached to make a movie by his fellow community members who were familiar with his skills.

"Other communities were doing movie or something else. Everybody ah put out sumn. So we do one for we self - and everybody come and watch it," he said.

However, before the movie hit the streaming service, it was peddled on DVD. And it spread worldwide like wildfire.

Grant started acting in 2007. He was working at the Ministry of Education when someone recommended that he enrol at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

He was there for a few months, before being teased away into the music industry by his brother - who was artiste manager for dancehall artiste Erup.

After joining in on a video shoot, he chose that path.

"Doing that first music video made me realise that I was really in it. I wasn't really supposed to be there and I ended up with the main role. But as an artiste, you eventually want to produce. So as an actor, I wanted to go deeper in the profession and become a director. So I got a camera and I learned about it," he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Fuelling the progress with some passion, Grant has directed many music videos - and estimated that he has been featured in more than 100.

Now, in the wake of the unplanned, unmonitored success of Kill Dem All And Done, Grant has already laid plans for his next project. He actually wrapped filming this week.

"After seven years, I'm doing a bigger budget movie. Kill Dem All And Done brought me a producer from New York. He saw it overseas and was interested in who did it," Grant said.

Now in post-production is Grant's sophmore project, Raise The Dead: Revenge of the Jellyman.

Additionally, he will wrap another bigger budget film called Deception, produced by Orville Matherson, known for Jamaican Mafia.