You may know him as Charlie Dale on “Days of our Lives” or Caleb McKinnon on “The Bay,” but as Bradley “Smitty” Smith on “Beyond the Gates,” two-time Emmy Award winner Mike Manning is making waves as one half of the first interracial gay married couple in daytime, while at the same time making a name for himself behind the camera as a writer/producer working alongside the likes of Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, among others.

In his latest project, the film “Unexpected Treasures,” Manning takes on the role of Sam, a charming alien fugitive who links up with Hartley (Olivia Blue), a down-on-her-luck desert dweller as they race to outrun an alien bounty hunter, while at the same time unlocking ancient prophecies, and discovering that true connections often come from the most unexpected places.

Manning talks about the film in a conversation with Soap Opera Network as part of our new video series, “Soapsline,” including how he got involved, his role as executive producer, working with his co-stars, filming in Joshua Tree, and even had time to discuss his role on “Beyond the Gates,” revealing he originally auditioned for the role of Derek before eventually landing the role of Smitty.

“I became an executive producer after the fact,” Manning said early on in our discussion, noting he was initially just hired as an actor for the film, which shot in Joshua Tree in April 2024. “At the time, I was living in California. I’ve since then moved to Atlanta for ‘Beyond the Gates,’ which is your background. I always love shooting around where I live because then I don’t have to get on a plane. It’s easier. I read the script, and in the script, Sam, my character, he’s an alien, but he’s so kind and he’s benign. He’s loyal. He’s earnest. He’s just a beautiful creature. And it felt really good.”

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Explaining that he has played more villain-type characters throughout his career, Manning shares, he’s happy to play a good guy for a change. “I was looking to play a good guy, and it felt really good to sort of embody Sam. He also has telepathy powers, which my seven-year-old comic book Sci-Fi self was really excited about. Throughout the course of the movie, he’s trying to get back to his spaceship. He meets Hartley, played by Olivia Blue, who was fantastic — she’s a Joshua Tree local. She helps him get back to his spaceship, and along the way, he sort of restores her faith in humanity.”

Like several alien movies before it, particularly 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Unexpected Treasures” sees Sam seeking to make his way home after spending time on Earth, though he doesn’t have a spaceship to get him there. Instead, he has a teleportation device, something which the film makes a joke of in the dialogue.

“They say spaceship in the film, but he’s actually trying to get back to his teleportation device, so because he doesn’t have a spaceship, they kind of make a joke in the film, like, ‘Not everybody has a spaceship. What are you, what are you talking about? They’re expensive.’ And so yeah, it’s, it’s exactly like that,” Manning says. “I mean, growing up, when I saw [Steven] Spielberg‘s ‘E.T.,’ it was one of the movies that made me believe in the magic of movie-making and want to be in this industry. You had the Ron Howard film, ‘Cocoon,’ and you had ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ You had so many of these alien movies from the 1980s that were beautiful and adventure films and family films, and that’s very much what this movie is. People go into this movie wanting ‘Alien’ with Ripley and the Xenomorphs, and that’s not what this movie is [laughs].”

In addition to Manning and Blue, the cast includes Michael Dunn (“Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2”) as Frank, a fervent believer in UFO theory and alien existence; AnnaMaria Demara (“War of the Worlds: Extinction”) as June, a resilient mom making up for lost time; and Jay Whitaker (“The Orville,” “Let’s Go To Prison”) as The Bad Guy, the film’s menacing antagonist.

To see/hear what else Manning has to say about “Unexpected Treasures” and “Beyond the Gates,” watch our full interview below.

For more information about the film, visit the official website.

Watch the trailer below.

“Unexpected Treasures” is available now on Apple TV+ and Prime Video.

Note: The post ‘Beyond The Gates’ Star Mike Manning Plays An Alien In ‘Unexpected Treasures’ – INTERVIEW first appeared on Soap Opera Network.

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Now I have two movies to watch on Apple TV+.

 

Great to see you interviewing again, Errol. I hope there are more interviews coming.

Great interview @Errol! ❤️

I really enjoyed the interview. Thanks Errol 😊