A budding Bermudian soap opera star is back on the Island for the Cup Match holiday.

Will Kempe, who returned home this week, stars as Ian Armitage on the award winning soap opera "One Life to Live''.

Mr. Kempe's character was introduced into the show's storyline as a young man who recently inherited $6 billion from his father and is searching to find out more about his mother.

Ian later finds out that the woman with whom he is beginning to fall in love is really his twin sister.

Eight months into a two-year contract, Mr. Kempe yesterday told The Royal Gazette he initially had no intention of working on a soap opera set.

After growing up in Bermuda, he attended the University of Western Ontario where he studied business and economics.

But when he moved to New York after college, he found himself more involved in plays and movies.

One of the short films Mr. Kempe directed was featured in the first Bermuda Film Festival held in May.

The short film, entitled "All You Are'', centred around a woman who plays a sexual mind game with another woman.

The film won awards at a French film festival and caught the attention of cable movie channel HBO.

Since then, Mr. Kempe has met with HBO executives who are interested in featuring another one of his movies, entitled "Liquid Zen''. The film is a story based on modern day cults.

Mr. Kempe has also written a thriller which he wants to film in Bermuda when he has enough experience.

"Theatre and acting was something I had always done, but never thought about it as a profession,'' the long-haired soap star -- who was interviewed while lifting weights at the Olympic Club -- confessed.

"But then again, I never wanted to cut my hair or get real job, and this way I don't have to.'' "One Life to Live's'' casting director knew Mr. Kempe's work as an actor and director and called him in for an audition when the part of "Ian'' was available.

But Mr. Kempe said he had thought of the audition as more of a warm-up exercise as he had not acted in a few months.

When the show first offered him the part, he said he did not want it.

But when the soap opera upped the stakes, determined to have him play the part, he decided to give it a try.

Since then, he said he has been very satisfied with the soap star life.

He explained that the show provides him with a flexible schedule and "not totally consuming'' whereby he can "still have a life''.

This arrangement is especially helpful as Mr. Kempe lives in Los Angeles and works in New York.

"One Life to Live'' shoots five days a week, of which Mr. Kempe may only be taping two or three days.

But he said he only has one week of holiday time, aside from Christmas, and he thought there was no better time to come back to Bermuda than Cup Match weekend.

During his vacation Mr. Kempe plans to relax on the water and enjoy himself with old college buddies who are visiting him.