Fired-up actor Samuel Johnson is using the spotlight of his Australia Day Honour to call on the Government to get serious about funding breast cancer research.

He asked why cancer research was not higher on the government's priority list than terrorism.

"It's killing more of us, it's directly threatening more of us," he said.

"More leadership needs to be shown. I haven't seen a government in recent memory that's treated this problem as seriously as my family treats it."

Johnson, star of the upcoming miniseries about pop guru Molly Meldrum, has already raised $2.3 million for cancer research through his charity Love Your Sister, which has almost 300,000 Facebook followers.

He raised $1.5 million of that riding a unicycle around Australia, in response to a dare from his sister, Connie, the mother of two young boys, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Since then, Johnson has raised $800,000 more through thousands of fundraising events and interviews around Australia.

His latest goal is to reach $10 million.

Samuel Johnson as Ian 'Molly' Meldrum in Molly. Photo: Seven Network 

He said he has an "epic plan", not involving a unicycle, but can only say the project will be called "The Stick: For People who Give a F--k".

He hopes today's honour will "open more doors, that I'll be taken more seriously, and that we can reach our goal of $10 million for the Garvan Institute of Medical Research sooner".

"I've had a gutful, I've been nice for long enough, and s--t's going to get hectic.

Actor Samuel Johnson raised raised $1.5 million for breast cancer research by riding a unicycle around Australia. Photo: Eddie Jim

"I'm going to get my cranky pants on and do a bit of the old fashioned Stormin' Norman."

"I'm flying the flag for every Mum in the country. And if it's a breast cancer patient that's not a Mum, then she has a Mum.

"To me it's a no-brainer. It should be number one, but I'm personally affected, and perhaps don't have the objectivity that I need."

Samuel Johnson with Molly Meldrum. Photo: Supplied.

He says there has been little acting work since shooting on Molly wrapped last February, aside from a few hours a week of TV and radio voiceover work.

The cancer fundraising, while unpaid, is his "full-time job".

He says with "half the country" doing volunteer work, his is nothing special, but he will milk his Australia Day Honour spotlight - and his fame in portraying Molly - "for all it's worth. If being Molly Meldrum is going to help me raise a bit of coin for cancer, then that's no dramas with me."