Coronation Street’s Carl Webster actor is married to a famous Hollywood movie star – can you guess who?
HIS arrival on the cobbles was a big coup for Coronation Street bosses.
Soap newcomer Jonathan Howard, who plays Kevin Webster’s half-brother Carl, has an impressive acting pedigree having starred in a Marvel blockbuster alongside industry heavyweights.
And now fans are realising that his wife Elodie Yung is also very famous.
The French-Cambodian actress, 44, will be familiar to fans of Daredevil, in which she played Elektra Natchios, Fox’s The Cleaning Lady, and historic fantasy blockbuster Gods of Egypt.
The fourth season of crime drama The Cleaning Lady recently aired to strong reviews and saw Elodie reprise her lead role of Cambodian surgeon Thony De La Rosa, who puts her skills to use working for a criminal organisation.
Elodie and Jonathan lived together in the US with their six-year-old daughter, before he returned to the UK for the Corrie gig.
Though living apart from his family is tough, Jonathan is also relishing being back on home soil.
He told the Metro: “I left the north of England 20 years ago, when I was 20. I went to do Dream Team in London then I went to drama school for three years.
“I left drama school and managed to work in America and moved to America and I’ve been in the States for the last 10 years with my wife and I have a daughter over there.
“The only hard thing is being away from them, but at the same time it’s a real gift to be back in the north of England.”
Many actors have tried to crack Hollywood after getting their break in soapland, but occasionally some go the other way, including Sir Ian McKellen, who realised a lifelong dream when he played Lionel Hipkis in Corrie.
Jonathan is thrilled to be part of the ITV institution and says it’s as exciting as starring in huge films like Thor: The Dark World, World War Z, Kingdom and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
He told The Mirror: “Being in Coronation Street is just as big a thrill as being in a Hollywood film or an American TV series. 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.”
Jonathan’s arrival in Weatherfield has sparked trouble as he has fallen for cancer-stricken brother Kevin’s wife Abi.
The pair flirted up a storm after he attempted to steal her parking space and caused her to prang her car as a result.
Abi’s signature temper came to the surface and she shouted at him, revealing Kevin is suffering from cancer.
She lashed out and gave her then unknown brother-in-law a bloody nose, before apologising.
Carl saw the funny side and was quickly taken by Abi’s fiery side.