During his career, Mike Manning has successfully bounced around the different genres of TV and film. He’s made his mark in reality television, daytime and digital soaps, primetime TV, and beyond. The Emmy winner has won awards for his work in front of the camera and behind the scenes. And now he’s ready to hit the ground running with CBS’s groundbreaking series Beyond the Gates.
The Early Days
Mike Manning grew up in Colorado and Florida. While living in Colorado, he became interested in acting. In fact, he participated in productions of Oliver! and The Secret Garden.
He first experienced life under a microscope when he joined Season 23 of MTV’s groundbreaking reality show, The Real World: Washington D.C. He definitely made the most of his location. According to his IMDB bio, he lobbied Congress on behalf of the Human Rights campaign.
Manning is one of the few to truly break out of the reality show universe to go into acting, writing, producing scripted content, and creating pivotal and hard-hitting documentaries.
READ THIS: More details on BTG’s Mike Manning.
Multi-talented Manning
In 2014, he snagged a role in the Disney Channel flick Cloud 9. Two of the producers of the snowboarding movie were High School Musical icon Ashley Tisdale and Olympic champion Shaun White.
In addition to earning a living in front of the camera with roles in CBS’s Hawaii Five-0, TNT’s Major Crimes, and MTV’s Teen Wolf, the actor also worked hard on projects behind the scenes.
In 2014, he executive produced a Showtime documentary called Kidnapping for Christ. Four years later, he got involved with Lost in America, a documentary examining youth homelessness issues.
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His Soap DAYS
In 2020, Manning was cast on DAYS, starring as Ava Vitali’s (Tamara Braun) sick and twisted son, Charlie Dale. At the time, the writer and activist was also part of the award-winning digital series The Bay. He plays Caleb, the love interest of Eric Nelson’s Daniel Garrett. The characters were still married at the end of the show’s most recent eighth season. A ninth season is on its way.
Manning won Daytime Emmy awards for being part of The Bay producing team and a supporting actor trophy for his work in front of the camera.
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From The Bay to The Gates
The This is Us actor is now set to star in Beyond the Gates as Bradley “Smitty” Smith, a former political reporter who is now a househusband. He is married to Congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and father to teenagers Tyrell and Samantha.
And while he’s a great dad who leads with warmth and good humor, Smitty thinks he needs to shake things up. Maybe resuming his writing career is the way to go, but he’s hesitant to tell his hubby. Why? Because Martin likes their home life the way it is.
It sounds like friction and conflict are coming for this couple when Beyond The Gates premieres on CBS on February 24, 2025, at 2 pm ET / 1 pm CT.
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