His first film, Never Down featuring Kurt Vonnegut won him the Best Debut Director Award at the New York Independent Film Festival in 2006. Later that year Oppel also won Best Actor award at the NYC Horror Film Festival for his starring role in the cult horror film, Rapturious. His documentary feature, Uncle Bob was an official selection of the Frameline Film Festival in 2010 and has been distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. Oppel is also known for doing his own stunts, writing and casting for motion pictures as well. He resides in Los Angeles and does collage art shows, performs with his band Bitten Bullet, and continues to act and direct.