Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) has made an inherently classic Coronation Street entrance, getting into a collision and a subsequent spat within seconds of making his on-screen debut.
It’s no wonder actor Jonathan Howard, 38, feels like he is living the dream!
Carl, as viewers will know, crossed paths with Abi (Sally Carman) at the Freshco’s car park when he attempted to take the parking space she was motioning towards.
A showdown ensued, with Abi – who has been looking after Kevin (Michael Le Vell) following his cancer diagnosis – revealing just how difficult her day had been.
When Carl made light of the situation, Abi saw red and punched him. However, it was clear that there was a connection between the two, with Carl subsequently inviting Abi out for a drink.
In typical Corrie fashion, a twist beckoned, with subsequent scenes confirming that Carl is Kevin and Debbie’s (Sue Devaney) younger brother!
Quite a debut not only for character Carl but for actor Jonathan, who has well and truly been thrown in at the deep end of the drama.
The star is no danger to larger than life narratives, however, having starred in some huge Hollywood movies including Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, where he played Game Of Thrones star Charles Dance’s son, and World War Z opposite Brad Pitt.
The 38-year-old’s most known role to date is that of Ian Boothby in Thor: The Dark World.
Ian was the intern – or more accurately the ‘intern’s intern’ – of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who investigated strange occurrences in London prior to Thor’s arrival in the Marvel movie.
Despite all of his previous success in Hollywood, Jonathan is adamant that working on Corrie is a lifelong dream.
‘Being in Coronation Street is just as big a thrill as being in a Hollywood film or an American TV series,’ he told The Mirror. ‘It’s all the same, everyone’s telling stories, whether it’s a big $200m movie or a soap like Corrie.
‘As a Lancashire lad born and raised, the dream was to be in Coronation Street – that was the ceiling, so it feels wonderfully surreal to now be acting with people like Kevin Webster that I watched religiously as a kid.
‘I’m staying with my mum and I sleep in my childhood bedroom. It’s been really nice to come home – going back to my roots.’
Carl will continue to cause trouble, especially where Abi is concerned, but Jonathan reckons his alter-ego’s heart is ‘in the right place’.
‘I don’t think Carl is going to be too bad but I don’t think he’s going to be good either, I think his heart is in the right place but he might be holding on to some resentment towards his brother because he’s left him to be on his own his whole life,’ he said previously.
On Carl’s antics with the ladies the star added: ‘He’s maybe a little bit selfish, especially between his trousers sometimes!’
