Lancashire born and bred actor Jonathan Howard abandoned a Hollywood lifestyle and left his US-based wife and child behind in the States to return to the UK and take on a role in Britain’s most iconic soap – Coronation Street. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk he confirmed that he’s moved back in with his parents and started sleeping in his childhood bedroom again at the age of 40, as he embraces the new opportunity back in England.
Although his life in LA saw him star in huge blockbuster movies alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, he never forgot the special connection he always had with the UK. “It’s a real gift to be back in the North of England. I’m a Lancashire lad at heart and my sister and all my childhood friends still live in the same village I grew up in, on the outskirts of Southport,” he revealed. “I go home there on the weekends. It’s a bit weird to be sleeping in my teenage bed. 40 years old and sleeping in my childhood bedroom, it’s interesting!”
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However, his biggest ambition with Corrie is to make his mum “proud” – and to succeed where he previously failed, after auditioning for the soap decades ago and getting turned down.
Jonathan ended up going to drama school instead, followed by a glittering list of film credits in the US, but today he emotionally exclaimed: “It’s really nice being around Northerners again.
“The city is so vibrant and friendly! Manchester changed so much in 20 years – I had no idea Media City even existed!”
He’s now on a mission to “raise his profile” and get seen more on UK television – but admits it’s difficult to be away from his French-Cambodian wife and the daughter they share in the US.
“It wasn’t on the cards – I wasn’t expecting to suddenly come back to Lancashire – but when I got offered the job, the character was too interesting to pass up,” he explained.
Jonathan also dished on what sets the British acting industry apart from the States – which he admits is not a lot.
“I could be in a £200 million dollar monster movie or I could be on the cobbles of Weatherfield – you know, everyone’s trying to make art and tell a story,” he explained.
There is one crucial difference in how fast-paced soap life is compared to a Hollywood movie though, with Jonathan quipping: “On Godzilla it took me about three days to die!”
Alongside his role as Asher Jonah in Godzilla: King of The Monsters, he also starred with Brad Pitt in horror film World War Z, in which he played a soldier.
Jonathan was previously on British shows including Hollyoaks, Holby City, Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge, so his portfolio isn’t short of UK roles, but his most high-profile gigs to date have been over in LA, where he and his wife had been living exclusively for almost a decade.
Now that’s all set to change, after millions of viewers caught a first glimpse of Jonathan as Carl Webster in Coronation Street.
In hilarious scenes, Abi, who’s played by Sally Carman, punched Carl, leaving him with a bloody nose – but all the while had no idea that she was actually hitting her brother-in-law.
As regular viewers will know, Abi is in a relationship with Carl’s estranged brother Kevin (Michael Le Vell), whom he’s come to the cobbles to look out for following his testicular cancer diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Carl will also reunite with his sister Debbie, played by Sue Devaney, whose diagnosis of suspected dementia recently rocked the Street.
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“It’s surreal that I’m now playing Kevin’s brother after watching so much of him as a boy, as a teenager and a young man… he’s been in [the soap] for 43 years and has worked with thousands of actors, so I can learn a lot from him. It’s a real privilege,” Jonathan declared.
“I was nervous about feeling like an outsider but Kevin was so welcoming!”
