83 Facts About Todd Manning

Thomas Todd Manning is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live.

In 2011, Howarth returned to OLTL; it was disclosed Todd Manning had been taken hostage and St John's version of the character was really Todd Manning's identical twin brother, Victor Lord, Jr.

Todd Manning was initially a short-term villain, but his popularity with the audience and critics inspired the writers to forgo killing him or permanently sending him to prison, like most soap operas had done with rapists in the past.

Todd Manning has been the subject of numerous soap opera articles, feminist studies, and inspired the creation of a doll in his likeness.

Todd Manning has remained a popular and controversial figure since his creation, and is considered one of soap opera's breakout characters.

Todd Manning is stabbed in the chest with a pair of scissors by Nora when he goes after her for revenge.

Todd Manning is arrested when he jealously confronts new couple Rebecca and Powell.

In December 1994, Peter Manning dies and Todd learns he is adopted.

Todd Manning later learns that she really is pregnant, but, after being mugged, she miscarries.

Todd Manning discovers she initially lied about her pregnancy and has the marriage annulled.

Todd Manning goes to Ireland to give Marty a flight back to Llanview.

Todd Manning gives birth to his stillborn son in 1997.

Todd Manning blames Patrick for the miscarriage and frames him for the murder of billionaire and Llanview newcomer Guy Armitage.

When Blair falls into a coma, Todd Manning pays lawyer Tea Delgado five million dollars to marry him so he can keep custody of Starr.

When Todd Manning is about to be arrested for the murder of a woman named Georgie Phillips, he takes the other fourteen suspects hostage at the Buchanan family cabin with fake dynamite strapped to his chest.

Rachel Gannon admits to the murder, but Todd Manning is arrested for the hostage incident.

Blair leaves town with the children, but Todd Manning follows her to Hawaii, where his plans to kidnap the children with help from Ross Rayburn are foiled by Tea.

Todd Manning had used the nanny's "death" as an excuse for Blair to stay with him, later staging a hit on Blair's life, with him as the rescuer.

Natalie is rescued, and Todd Manning comes face to face with a frail Victor before he finally dies from heart failure.

In 2003, the presumed dead Irene Manning had ordered a hit on the real Todd to keep him from exposing her agency.

Todd Manning had Todd strapped to a chair and made him uncover every detail of his life.

Todd Manning originally gave Victor Todd's scar, but then had Victor's face altered with reconstructive surgery to make him look like Mitch Laurence's long lost brother, Flynn Walker Laurence.

Todd Manning kept the real Todd locked up, instead of following through with the original plan to kill him.

Todd Manning eventually admits to these facts after Todd escapes and returns home.

Todd Manning helps Cole Thornhart fake his death so he can live with Starr and their daughter, Hope, in California.

Todd Manning thinks local mobster Sonny Corinthos is responsible for the deaths and seeks revenge.

Todd Manning allows Tea to believe the child is hers, after Heather talks him out of telling Tea the truth.

Todd Manning remains concerned about Jack and Dani, attempting to buy their affections with money and deciding the best way to win them over is to call a truce with Victor.

Todd Manning eventually admits he only pretended to get along with Victor to lure him into a false sense of security.

The mysterious Tattoo Organization that held Victor demands that Todd Manning find and kill Victor.

Todd Manning receives another note by the Tattoo Organization, this time telling him that he failed them and that Victor has been recaptured.

Todd Manning is told that he must leave Llanview and go to the address given on the note.

Todd Manning says goodbye to Viki and his children, but does not tell them the real reason he is leaving is to protect their family.

Todd Manning was originally intended to be a short-lived role, but Howarth's portrayal of the character inspired notable fan reaction, which prompted the creators to layer Todd Manning's personality and showcase him regularly within the series.

Josh loved, lived and breathed Todd Manning and fought passionately for his position on the show.

Todd Manning is at first presented as 18 years old, but over the years, his age has been changed based upon the occasional rapid aging of his children.

Peter Manning, who Todd thought was his father, had died; Todd receives letters written by his adoptive mother disclosing that he is the Lord heir, and worth almost $30 million.

Executive producer Susan Bedsow Horgan, when speaking of Todd's psychological motivations, reported that Peter Manning degraded him verbally and abused his adoptive mother, whom Todd loved but who abandoned and disappointed him, leaving Todd with wounds that influenced his later behavior.

In November 2008, during St John's portrayal of the character, Todd Manning is given a new scar by John McBain during a physical altercation in which John beats Todd Manning with a gun.

Todd Manning's preference was that Todd's hair was a little shorter; he told Soap Opera Weekly that he thought that Todd's hair was too "shaggy", which was not his personal style, and that he hoped the writers and producers would let him trim off a bit.

The music consisted of ominous low chords and signaled that Todd Manning was about to commit a vicious, dangerous, or threatening act.

Todd Manning's cues are always custom-made so to speak, so there is energy and attention going toward getting the exact flavor of what the current story-line is saying about his journey.

The menacing chords which played as Todd Manning stalked and terrorized Nora in 1993 for mishandling his trial and sending him to prison were Todd Manning's theme.

At the time of Todd Manning's introduction to OLTL, he was a competitive athlete.

Todd Manning's fraternity was the most important part of his life; Howarth stated that Todd was "under intense pressure from the male figures in his life".

Todd Manning felt that the key to understanding Todd was his concern about his status and how others perceived him.

Todd Manning thought that Todd mistreated people because it made him feel better about himself and that he did not want to appear vulnerable, so his defense mechanisms "spun out of control".

Howarth, during an April 1994 Soap Opera Update interview, said that the only thing that he admired about Todd Manning was his clothing style.

Columnist Jill Berry, who saw Todd Manning as self-centered in the extreme, said that although Todd Manning desperately wants to be loved, he is unable to give or receive it, and when he is loved, he will destroy it.

Todd Manning did acknowledge Todd's capability of loving his children, which he expressed by doing "crazy and illegal things to prove it", but felt that much of the difficulty he experiences is brought on by himself and that he is incapable of learning from his mistakes even when they hurt the people he loves.

Todd Manning said Todd is in need of "intensive therapy", which will never work because he refuses to change.

When she at one point attempts to seduce Todd Manning by stripping down naked in front of him and pleading with him to make love to her, he rejects her, explaining that he no longer trusts himself to be intimate in that way; he subsequently throws her out, practically naked, into the middle of a snowstorm.

Berry enjoyed the vulnerability Viki brought out of Todd Manning, and felt that his self-hatred demonstrated itself in many ways, including when he refused to name his son, Jack, after himself because his name carried too much baggage.

The writers made it so that his difficulties are manifested in his nightmares, which give him insomnia and are designed as a look into his psyche; at multiple points within the series, Tea attempts to help Todd Manning by encouraging him to open up to her about them, which he eventually does.

Todd Manning was recast in 2003 with St John, and Howarth joined As the World Turns as Paul Ryan until it was cancelled in 2010.

Todd Manning stated, "I am looking forward to returning to One Life to Live".

Todd Manning met a One Life to Live casting director two years previously, while performing in a New York play, but, when the role of Todd opened up, he "auditioned just like everybody else".

Todd Manning "made it to callbacks, and [he] got the part".

Todd Manning was perplexed by writers' need to redeem villains.

In 1997 and 1998, Todd Manning was given comedic partners similar to the set-up in comedy teams, in which the "funny guy" usually has a "straight man" who either sets up the joke or simply does not understand it.

Todd Manning tells the bird his private thoughts and secrets, which causes conflict and antagonism between Moose and his wife at the time, Tea.

The soap opera press and fans speculated for several months that Todd Manning had been recast with St John.

St John's version of Todd Manning had undergone plastic surgery after being severely beaten during a murder attempt on his life ordered by Mitch Laurence.

Todd Manning pays Flynn for information on Mitch, and has extensive plastic surgery in order to physically resemble Flynn and get revenge on Mitch.

St John was unaware that Malone and the producers of OLTL were considering him as Todd Manning, but had no strategy in his performance once he won the role.

Todd Manning was able to use these resources to figure out his relationship to other characters, which helped him analyze how to play a scene.

Todd Manning thought that playing Todd was fun and "never boring to watch" because Todd, although popular with the audience, is an unlikable character.

Malone stated that Todd Manning believes that he does not deserve forgiveness, which contributes to him embracing his worst qualities, something Malone felt worked better due to Howarth's acting choices, which prevented Todd Manning from acquiring redemption easily.

Todd Manning believes that many of Todd's scenes with Rebecca are heavily iconic, with symbolic representations of the Virgin Mary and Freudian images of Todd's own feminization.

Todd Manning uses his time alone to make toys for the children.

The Hollywood Reporter stated that even though Todd Manning was a convicted rapist, he was the most popular character and Howarth was the most popular actor on OLTL.

Todd Manning said that due to the storyline and to Howarth's talent, Todd "became the show's next centerpiece villain and eventually the show's male lead".

On May 29,2006, in what the soap opera section of SheKnows described as "one of the most memorable moments" for OLTL, and "breathtaking, nerve-racking, heart wrenching", St John portrayed Todd Manning being executed for a crime he did not commit.

Many viewers thought that Todd Manning's death was permanent; Soap Opera Digest speculated that this was due to limited Internet access or to a lack of interest in spoilers.

Soap opera journalist Marlena De Lacroix, who acknowledged that she neither liked nor understood Todd Manning, expressed her inability to understand his popularity among so many fans, even during his several hiatuses from the show.

Hayward reported that many female viewers were furious that Logan had described them this way, and stated that their attraction to Todd Manning was due to the skill of the actor portraying him.

When Todd Manning was recast with St John after Howarth's departure, many fans felt that like the roles of Luke Spencer on General Hospital and Erica Kane on All My Children, Todd Manning should be portrayed only by the actor who had originated the role.

At least one soap opera blogger was outraged, and wanted Todd Manning to be punished.

Todd Manning was in denial, and even almost hit Starr twice when she challenged his beliefs.

In June 2008, Todd Manning discovers her alive, and finds that she is afflicted with amnesia and has been crippled since the crash.

Todd Manning starts to nurse her back to health, lying to her about her identity and her importance to the people she loves, and he starts to develop romantic feelings for her.

Todd Manning stated that he was aware of how serious it was pairing the characters romantically, but did not feel like they were damaging Marty's character.

Todd Manning felt that it was a severe misjustice to the original storyline.