Paul Opacic

Over the course of his decades-long career, British actor Paul Opacic has appeared in everything from primetime dramas to long-running soap operas. Opacic broke into acting in the early '90s with minor roles on comedies like "Only Fools and Horses...," about two shameless brothers who make a living selling questionable goods on the black market, and the family sitcom "Birds of a Feather." After a decade of steady supporting work, Opacic landed a breakout role on the popular nighttime serial "Emmerdale" as morally challenged businessman Steve Marchant. Marchant quickly became a central character and enjoyed several high-profile storylines involving Kim Tate (Claire King), "Emmerdale"'s main villain, before being written out of the show in 1999. Opacic next played a young doctor on the medical series "Peak Practice" and portrayed hardened security officer Mark Waddle on the gritty prison drama "Bad Girls." From 2006 to 2007 he portrayed small-town farmer Adrian Huby on the BBC drama "The Chase," centered on the tight-knit Chase family and their veterinary clinic. In 2010 Opacic joined the cast of the popular soap opera "Hollyoaks" as part of executive producer Paul Marquess' overhaul of the long-running series. His role as ex-athlete Carl Costello, patriarch of the newly arrived Costello family, has since become one of "Hollyoaks"' most important characters.