By Mike Manning knows Bradley “Smitty” Smith has been doing entirely too much lately. Since Beyond the Gates premiered on CBS in 2025, the Emmy-winning actor has played Smitty as a devoted father married to Congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon), usually the person trying to bring the temperature down when his family is spiraling. But putting Smitty back in investigative-journalist mode has awakened a very different side of him, and the further he gets into his latest story, the more those carefully drawn lines between husband, father, and reporter are beginning to disappear.
TV Source recently spoke with Manning about just how far Smitty is willing to go for a story, how that pursuit has shifted the dynamic in his marriage to Martin, and why even Manning thought Smitty went too far when he broke into his mother-in-law’s office. We also talked about the Beyond the Gates role he originally auditioned for, whether viewers may finally meet Smitty’s family, and what other sides of Bradley Smith are still waiting to come out.
Long before Manning was chasing stories through Fairmont Crest as Smitty, viewers first met him on Season 23 of MTV’s The Real World: D.C. He later moved into acting and producing, winning a Daytime Emmy as a producer on the digital soap The Bay in 2020 and another the following year for his performance as Caleb McKinnon. Five years later, Smitty brought him back to the Daytime Emmys with a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor.
From Derek to Smitty
Smitty may feel inseparable from Manning now, but he wasn’t actually the first Beyond the Gates character the actor wanted to play. Manning originally auditioned for Derek Baldwin, later played by Ben Gavin. After portraying villain Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives, he was excited by the prospect of playing someone much closer to a traditional good guy.
“I kind of had my heart set on Derek in the beginning,” Manning admitted. “I was like, ‘He’s a firefighter. He’s in love. He’s a good guy. I get to play a good guy.’” When he didn’t hear anything back, Manning assumed the opportunity had passed. Eventually, another audition came through for a character whose name wasn’t even Bradley or Smitty in the sides. This character was an investigative journalist, something Manning wasn’t immediately sure about until he started imagining what the role could become.
“At first I was like, ‘Wait, a journalist? What is this?’” Manning recalled. “But then the more I thought about it, the more I was like, okay, I get to play a father. I really love Superman, so there’s kind of like a Clark Kent vibe going on with being an investigative journalist. And the more I read about the role and sort of imagined the role, the more I wanted the role.” By the time the call came asking whether he wanted to play Smitty, he didn’t hesitate. “Yes, please. Absolutely.”
For Once, Mike Manning Is the Diversity Hire
One thing that immediately separated Beyond the Gates from the other daytime dramas was its decision to center a wealthy Black family and build a predominantly Black ensemble around them. That also reversed some of the casting dynamics the genre had operated under for generations, so I asked Manning what it felt like to be on a show where, in many ways, he could be considered one of the diversity hires.
Manning embraced the question, reflecting on just how long daytime television had existed before a soap like Beyond the Gates was finally created. “For it to have taken however many decades— seven, eight decades, to have a show that looks like this, where I get to be the minority, where I, me as a white dude, get to be the minority in the cast, I feel like it’s beautiful,” he said. For Manning, Smitty’s importance goes beyond race. Smitty is a gay man married to a congressman and raising two adopted children, a family configuration he believes hasn’t traditionally been represented this way in daytime. “Families come in all shapes and sizes,” he said. “I haven’t seen a family like that on television before.”
The response to the show has made that impact impossible for Manning to miss. After 18 years as an actor, he says no character has made him more recognizable than Smitty, especially in Atlanta. Fans approach him in restaurants, airports, and around town calling out Smitty’s name, and he laughed while remembering some identifying him simply as “the white boy from Beyond the Gates.” Manning doesn’t mind it at all. In fact, he loves that viewers have embraced both the character and what the show represents.
The Glasses, the “Dad Polos” and Building Smitty
Once Manning had the role, there was also the practical matter of making Smitty look like somebody’s father. He was playing the dad of teenagers despite looking close enough in age to Samantha and Tyrell that I told him he could probably roam the school halls with them. He appreciated the compliment, even if he didn’t entirely agree with my assessment.
Manning explained that Smitty was around thirty-one when the role was cast. At the same time, Smitty and Martin’s children, Samantha Richardson (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell Richardson (Jaden Lucas Miller), were originally conceived as younger children before the casting process aged them into their teens. That changed the visual dynamic between Smitty and his kids, and Manning became focused on making sure viewers could still believe him as their father. One of the first things he did was go to the props department and suggest that Smitty should wear glasses.
“When I was hired, I went to the props department, and I said, ‘Hey, I think Smitty has glasses. Let’s give him some glasses. He’s a journalist,’” Manning said. The glasses eventually became more than a way to age the character. Manning wanted Smitty to have something he could put on when he stepped into reporter mode, much like Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) has his badge when he becomes the cop. Wardrobe had been thinking in a similar direction, pitching what Manning described as a “young Anderson Cooper” look filled with sweaters and clothes designed to make Smitty appear a little older. Manning had his own name for it: “dad polos.”
There’s Dad Smitty, and Then There’s Reporter Smitty
That distinction between home and work ultimately became central to Manning’s approach to Smitty. At home, Smitty is usually the one lowering the temperature. Martin can enter a room carrying his congressional responsibilities, his schedule, and his need to control what happens next, while Smitty usually encourages everyone to slow down and communicate. Manning describes “House Smitty” as patient, understanding, and slow to anger, particularly with Samantha and Tyrell.
Playing a father for the first time on television also affected Manning personally. Getting into the mindset of a parent who genuinely believes he is trying to do what is best for his children led Manning to reconsider parts of his own childhood. He even found himself calling his parents to apologize. “I realize that you guys were just trying to help me out,” he remembered telling them. “So it has helped me, Mike, as a human being, be a better person, I think, playing a father on screen.”
Work brings out something very different. “He’s too pushy,” Manning said. “He gets his scent on the trail, and he has to sniff it out. He’s not calm. He’s not subtle. He’s selfish, and he pushes too hard.”
Smitty and Martin Have Switched Places
That version of Smitty creates an irony Manning hasn’t missed. During the show’s early months, Smitty spent much of his time angry with Martin for keeping an enormous secret from him, and there were moments when even Manning thought he needed to come down from the moral high ground. “Sometimes I read the script, and I’m like, ‘Smitty, get off your high horse,’ especially those first six months of the show,” he said. Martin had made a terrible mistake, but once the full circumstances were revealed, viewers could understand what he believed was at stake.
Now Smitty is the one operating behind his husband’s back and deciding what Martin needs to know. “I knew people were gonna jump on and be like, ‘See, you hypocrite,’” Manning said. “And I do feel that way. I feel like Smitty’s being a little bit of a hypocrite right now.”
What separates the two situations for Manning is motivation. Martin feared losing his family. Smitty has rediscovered a part of himself he had been missing. “He needs the scoop. He needs the story. He needs to feel a sense of purpose in his life because he’s been out of work for so long,” Manning explained.
Smitty Is Flying Too Close to the Sun
The danger, however, is getting harder to ignore. His work with Jacob has grown far beyond the story they started chasing, and the people further up the chain remain out there. If the local players were already dangerous, I pointed out, the people above them probably won’t respond to his exposé with a strongly worded letter. He’d likely be dodging bullets.
Manning has had similar reactions while reading the scripts. “Come on, Smitty. You’re smarter than this. You understand the danger,” he said. But he believes Smitty continues to weigh that danger against the people the story could help.
Then Manning offered a comparison that did absolutely nothing to make me feel better about where this is going. “It’s almost like Icarus, like the boy with the wax wings flying too close to the sun and his wings melt and he falls,” he said. “It’s absolutely a case of Smitty flying too close to the sun, and we’re just going to see how badly he gets burned.”
Even Manning Thinks Smitty Went Too Far With Nicole
Breaking into the office of Martin’s mother, Nicole Dupree (Daphnee Duplaix), felt different. Jacob had already warned Smitty that what he was doing could put her in danger, and he went ahead anyway, which was about the point I was ready to snatch those reporter glasses off his face. Manning understood the reaction because he wasn’t thrilled with Bradley either. I told him the affectionate nickname Pretty Smitty was officially off the table; government names only.
Manning said he questioned the scene when he first read it. “I asked one of the producers, ‘Does it really have to be like this?’” he recalled. The idea that Smitty would endanger Nicole professionally or personally bothered him. “I was like, ‘Smitty, come on. You’re pushing. You’re going too far. Don’t get Nicole in trouble.’ Smitty loves Nicole, and I love Daphnee, so it was very hard to do.”
That was essentially my position too. This investigative business was cute when Smitty was running around Fairmont Crest bothering everybody else. Manning assured me that Nicole is very smart and one of the best, but by then we were clearly in damage-control mode, so take that however you will. Once he got behind Nicole’s computer, the Nicole hive had questions. Manning laughed when I told him I was ready to fight Smitty, because apparently Mike had already been having his own argument with Bradley.
Smitty and Kat on a Case Together Could Be Chaos
Manning would also like to deepen Smitty’s relationships with other members of Martin’s family, including Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley). Kat Richardson (Colby Nixon), however, presents a different possibility. If Manning could choose someone for Smitty to actually work with, his sister-in-law would be near the top of the list.
Manning sees similarities between Smitty and Kat, particularly their curiosity and loyalty. He would love to see them working a case together, possibly in a story where the audience knows what they’re doing before the rest of the characters do. That idea immediately made sense to me because Kat is essentially fashionable pepper spray: cute, coordinated, and perpetually prepared to become somebody’s problem. Manning laughed and agreed the description was accurate before praising Nixon’s work with the character.
Of course, this proposed partnership has one obvious flaw. Neither Smitty nor Kat has demonstrated much respect for reasonable investigative boundaries, which means putting them together without Jacob or another responsible adult nearby could result in absolute chaos. Manning agreed. “They both go too far.” Exactly, which is also why I need the show to do it.
Manning Just Found Out About the Smitty and Jacob Hive
Jacob may be the responsible adult Smitty needs nearby, but apparently some viewers have noticed something else between the two. Manning learned during our conversation that there is, in fact, a Smitty and Jacob hive. His response was immediate. “Wait, really?”
Really. Jacob also happens to be married to Martin’s cousin Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne (Arielle Prepetit), which is where things get messy.
Manning wasn’t exactly campaigning for Smitty to blow up his marriage, Martin’s life, and Naomi’s family in one spectacularly messy sweep. I also wasn’t suggesting the show necessarily needed to go there, but the hive exists, and once soap viewers spot chemistry, good luck getting that toothpaste back into the tube.
Manning eventually conceded the most important point. “People want some drama.” And considering how many people would be caught in the blast radius of that particular development, drama would be putting it mildly. I reminded him that Naomi had already upended Martin and Smitty’s lives by digging into their kids’ closed adoption, so by soap logic, it was only fair. Manning was beside himself. “You unseal an adoption, and Smitty gets to steal your man. That’s petty, but hey, writers, if you’re listening, these are some ideas.”
Who Are the Smiths?
We’ve gotten to know the Duprees and Richardsons surrounding Smitty. The Smiths are another story.
We know him as Martin’s husband, Samantha and Tyrell’s father, and a journalist, but almost nothing about where Bradley Smith came from.
So I asked Manning whether that might finally be changing, and he suddenly became very careful. “I can’t say anything,” he began, which on a soap interview is usually when you know you’re getting somewhere. Then he gave me just enough. “But I can say that if you think we’re going to learn a little bit about Smitty’s family, I think you’re right.”
I told him I knew what I knew. Then he knew that I knew what he knew. We left it there before anybody accidentally got a call from publicity, but the message seemed pretty clear: viewers should probably start asking who the Smiths are.
We Haven’t Seen “Rage Fueled” Smitty Yet
Smitty’s family history isn’t the only part of the character Manning thinks remains unexplored. Viewers have seen him furious with Martin, but Manning believes that anger has largely been rooted in hurt and betrayal.
“We haven’t seen Smitty rage fueled,” Manning said. “We haven’t seen Smitty angry, and it came from a place of just being betrayed.” Manning believes viewers could start seeing more bite beneath Smitty’s usually measured demeanor as the character develops. “I think we’re gonna see more of Smitty with a little bit of spice to him.”
That conversation eventually led us to perhaps the most promising possibility of all: Petty Smitty. Manning laughed but didn’t dismiss it. “I think Smitty could be super petty if he wanted to be.” Now that sounds like somebody who belongs on a soap.
Smitty May Have Bigger Armstrong Problems Than Joey
There is still one Fairmont Crest resident Smitty would happily put under the journalistic microscope: Joey Armstrong (Jon Lindstrom). Manning didn’t hesitate when I asked who Smitty would most want to expose. “Smitty is just chomping at the bit to bring down Joey Armstrong.”
That determination is complicated by Smitty’s relationship with Vanessa McBride (Lauren Buglioli), who has become increasingly entangled in Joey’s world. Going after Joey could inadvertently hurt someone Smitty cares about, but lately, that may be the least of his Armstrong-related problems.
Smitty has now been questioned by police in connection with the murder of Lia Whitmore (Celelia Specth), with circumstances increasingly making him look like a possible suspect. At the same time, Joey’s sister Heather (Ashley Jones) has moved further into his orbit. What Smitty doesn’t know is what viewers do: Heather is the Impaler, an international criminal and murderer hiding in plain sight.
Heather has already crossed paths with several members of Smitty’s family, including butting heads with Nicole and making herself comfortable in places she isn’t particularly wanted. Now that Smitty knows her as Joey’s sister, any interest he takes in Heather could put him on a collision course with someone far more dangerous than she appears.
Manning had nothing but praise for Jones and what she has brought to the role. “I love the way she plays this character,” Manning added. “People who can play villains in such a calm, eerie way are the scariest, right? I’m enjoying the work we’re doing.”
Still, I had to give Smitty credit for consistency. Even during The Young and the Restless crossover, with chaos unfolding and a chandelier nearly dropping on someone, he managed to squeeze in a warning about Joey Armstrong. Manning questioned whether it was really the time or place. I disagreed. One heroic chandelier moment does not erase a man’s entire record, and I’m a longtime soap watcher. We hold grudges with remarkable stamina. Manning now understands the rules. Joey isn’t making it off the list.
Who Else Manning Wants in Smitty’s Orbit
Manning would also like to see Smitty pulled into corners of Fairmont Crest he doesn’t usually occupy.
One of the first names he mentioned was Timon Kyle Durrett, who plays Bill Hamilton. Smitty and Bill rarely cross paths, but Manning thinks Naomi could provide a natural bridge between them, particularly because she’s an attorney and Smitty’s current behavior suggests legal representation may eventually become useful.
“I think Smitty’s gonna need a lot of things pretty soon,” Manning joked, which once again was not nearly as reassuring as he seemed to think it was.
Manning also spoke warmly about working with Tamara Tunie and Clifton Davis, who play Anita and Vernon Dupree, and praised the energy they bring to the family. That naturally led me to ask who Smitty’s favorite Dupree was. Manning immediately tried to evade the assignment by naming several. I allowed the technicality, mostly because arguing with somebody over whether Martin technically counts as a Dupree felt like an unnecessary use of our remaining interview time. He ultimately went with Anita and Vernon, his husband’s grandparents, along with Kat.
The Cast TikToks Are Coming for Mike Manning Too
Anyone following the Beyond the Gates cast online knows they have fully embraced TikTok, from dances to behind-the-scenes videos. Manning is considerably less enthusiastic about being the person responsible for making them. He described himself as private and said trends don’t come naturally to him. He would rather post something spontaneous, like a genuine thought or candid moment from set, than spend time choosing a dance, arranging the lighting, and figuring out whatever everybody on TikTok decided they were doing that week.
Unfortunately for Manning, his castmates keep dragging him in anyway. He mentioned several castmates who regularly participate and admitted he’ll probably end up in more once everyone is back together. “You will see TikTok stuff in the future that I am pulled into against my will,” he joked.
Robert Christopher Riley, who plays Carlton Fitzgerald, gave me a very similar answer when we spoke, so apparently several men on this cast arrived believing they were simply being hired to act. Somewhere along the way, the women informed them there would also be choreography. It appears to be non-negotiable.
Manning Knows ‘Beyond the Gates’ Is Something Special
For all the joking about Smitty’s decisions, Manning became especially reflective when discussing what Beyond the Gatesmeans to the people making it. He believes the cast understood from the beginning that launching the first new daytime soap in decades, centered on a Black family in a way the genre had never done before, came with a responsibility to support it. Some cast members threw themselves into press, while others became heavily involved in social media. Manning said everyone has always shared the same goal: they want the show to succeed.
The enthusiasm viewers see from the cast isn’t manufactured, according to Manning. “This set is the kindest set I have ever been on,” he said, adding that the actors understand they are part of something television should have had years ago. “We all know that we’re doing something special. We know that this show maybe should have existed thirty years ago, but didn’t exist.”
That connection has also made his latest Daytime Emmy nomination especially meaningful. For Manning, being recognized for Smitty carries a different kind of weight. He repeatedly returned to his appreciation for the viewers who have embraced the character and helped make Smitty the role he is recognized for more than anything else in his career.
For a character Manning initially wasn’t sure what to make of, Bradley Smith has given him plenty to explore. And if our conversation made one thing clear, there are still sides of Smitty that could surprise both the audience and the actor playing him.
Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS. Episodes are available to stream on Paramount+. Follow Mike Manning on Instagram, TikTok and X.
