Lenny Henry has called for more investment in TV production in the West Midlands - and says he would like to do more himself.
His latest drama, Danny and the Human Zoo, is a partly autobiographical 90-minute film based on the first two years of his career.
It follows Danny, a 16 year old from Dudley, who gets through to the finals of New Faces.
Mr Henry wrote and executive produced the drama, which will be screened on bank holiday Monday, and insisted that it was all filmed in Dudley and Birmingham.
The 56 year old, who was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours, said: "We need more investment and support for local talent.
"We used to have Central TV and BBC Pebble Mill but they have gone and I think that was a mistake.
"We've had a lot of things in Liverpool, the north and the east end but how rare is it to see the Midlands on telly?
"I love Peaky Blinders but we could do with some more contemporary stories. The Midlands could be as cinematic as Martin Scorsese's Little Italy in New York.
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"The way Shane Meadows has lionised Nottingham and the East Midlands, I would love to do the same for the West Midlands.
"I have set up Douglas Road Productions, named after the road I grew up on, to make diverse TV and to tell stories about the Midlands. I have ideas for drama serials and one-offs.
"There's a huge array of talent here and I'd like to bring more work to the Midlands."
The Birmingham Post has been for the Midlands region and calling for 50 per cent of licence fee collected here to be reinvested in the region.
Mr Henry's comments about filming in the region were echoed by Arthur Darvill, the Birmingham-born actor who plays Danny's first manager, Jonesy, in the film.
Mr Darvill played Rory in Doctor Who and Rev Paul Coates in Broadchurch but has never worked in his own city before.
He said: "This is my first time filming something in Birmingham. There's so much talent here. There was a ton of actors here when I was growing up and we all moved to London together.
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"There used to be such a wealth of stuff made here with Pebble Mill and Central. My dad used to run the recording studio at Central.
"There is this big drive to get everything up north but it's missed the Midlands out. There needs to be more investment in the area and it seems it might be slowly coming back."
Pictures: Lenny Henry's Danny and the Human Zoo