00:00Beyond the Gates star Mike Manning on Breaking Boundaries as a gay dad in Groundbreaking Soap.
00:07The award-winning actor reflects on his groundbreaking role on the hit daytime drama.
00:12Getting his start on MTV's The Real World set actor Mike Manning's trajectory in life in a forward motion
00:18as the actor found his voice and began his journey as a human rights advocate fighting for LGBTQIA matters.
00:26Now, Manning finds himself in a front-burner romance on the CBS daytime drama Beyond the Gates
00:33where his character has challenged preconceived notions for gay characters on television.
00:39Manning recently spoke with Instinct magazine about his experience working on the new soap opera.
00:45Discussing what the character of Smitty means to him, Manning shared,
00:48It's the first time that I've ever played one half of a biracial gay couple with two adopted kids.
00:54It was an exciting role for me.
00:57I think that representation matters.
01:00The power of television is that people invite you into their homes or onto their phones to digest the show.
01:06They invite you to be a part of their lives.
01:08When you're able to play characters that allow a wide range of people to see themselves in those characters,
01:13I think it's powerful.
01:15Then for other people, you're just opening them up to new ideas, new ways of thinking.
01:20That's also powerful.
01:21I've been having such a blast playing Smitty.
01:24The show itself is groundbreaking.
01:27It's the first new soap opera in 25 years.
01:30Importantly, it's also the first hour-long soap ever that has centered around a black family from its inception.
01:37There was generations back in 1989 that included a black family,
01:41but this is the first of its kind that has centered around the nucleus of the entire show is a black family.
01:47That, in and of itself, is groundbreaking.
01:51So, to be a part of the show, and then to be playing the character that I'm playing,
01:56it's been a really wonderful experience for me.
01:58Reflecting on what he loves about the character of Smitty, Manning shared,
02:03I think with Smitty, the thing I like about him is that he breaks expectations of gender roles.
02:08Because one minute he will be playing basketball, or in the gym with his husband,
02:13and they're sort of participating in more masculine-seeming activities,
02:17and then the next episode, Smitty's wearing an apron having just made dinner,
02:21and I love that, because, you know, I love playing sports, and I also love cooking,
02:25and I think that, um, for a long time, uh, especially in America,
02:30I think that men have been prescribed to certain gender activities,
02:34and this show is also breaking that.
02:37Smitty is an ex-investigative journalist, so he has that going for him as well.
02:43He likes to be the dad, and be a good father to his kids.
02:47He wants to be a figure at home, but in the show, he's itching to go back to work.
02:52He's itching to get back into politics and into journalism.
02:56So, that's also a fun aspect of Smitty that I get to play.
02:59I see him as like a younger Anderson Cooper.
03:02Manning also shared his hopes for what the audience would get out of his performance on the soap opera.
03:08Sharing, I hope queer audiences just feel seen in the characters of Smitty and Martin.
03:13I hope that they realize that they are just as deserving as a loving, committed, somewhat dramatic,
03:19but the same type of relationship that we've seen for so many years with straight couples on television.
03:24Now, we're seeing it with queer couples, and I'm just happy to be a part of that.
03:30Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS at 2 p.m. ET,
03:34and streams weekdays on Paramount+.
03:36Let's get started.
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