Former Coronation Street star Emrhys Cooper has been cast in a horror film, two years after leaving his role as cult leader Rowan Cunliffe on the ITV soap.
The 41-year-old actor, who played the villainous Rowan Cunliffe in 2024 and ensnared Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) into his cult, shared the news with fans on social media.
Leicester Square Premiere Announced
Writing on Instagram, he said: "After all these years in the business… my first Leicester Square premiere. So excited that @niceonesfilm is coming to UK cinemas from 20 November."
The Nice Ones follows Kate (Joelle Ray), who meets friends of her boyfriend at a countryside retreat, where darker truths are exposed when an unseen object transforms them into "eerily nice" versions of themselves. According to IMDb, Emrhys plays a character named Dale.
Career Highlights
Emrhys made his on-screen debut in Mamma Mia! before appearing in episodes of Desperate Housewives and CSI, and also danced on America's Got Talent and The X Factor. He arrived on the cobbles at the start of 2024 as the charismatic leader of The Institute.
He first encountered Leanne at a hotel, presenting himself as the facilitator of a self-help group and successfully drawing her into the organisation through charm and manipulation.
Rowan Cunliffe Storyline
After months of indoctrination, Leanne persuaded Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) to join and pour her inheritance into a new resource centre, much to Rowan's delight. However, the tables turned when Leanne stumbled upon crucial files on Rowan's computer, revealing that Toyah (Georgia Taylor) and Nick (Ben Price) were having an affair and exposing Rowan's blackmailing scheme against the couple.
Determined to get rid of Rowan, Nick handed DS Swain (Vicky Myers) a notebook containing sufficient evidence of Rowan's criminal activities to justify his arrest. In December 2024, Rowan was held accountable for his fraudulent and blackmailing actions as leader of The Institute, with Leanne, Nick and Amy all testifying against him in court.
Life After the Soap
Upon joining Coronation Street, he said: "So I lived in America for 15 years, and the last few years I've been dying to come back, but I was just waiting for the right opportunity, and then I got this audition, and I came back to Manchester, and I've just been so happy here."
He continued: "And I was nervous about joining the show. I've just always looked up to it and been a fan, and people couldn't be nicer from the get-go, friendly, open arms, and I worked with Jane and Sue on my first day, and immediately I just felt really at home, so it's been like that ever since."
After leaving the soap, he appeared in pantomime productions of The Wizard of Oz, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dick Whittington, and also appeared opposite fellow Coronation Street star Maureen Lipman in the play Right Before I Go.
