MEET TEAMFILM CAST
Mike Manning (Sam)
Mike Manning is a two-time Emmy-winning actor, writer, and producer. On screen he is best known for Disney’s Cloud 9, MTV’s Teen Wolf, NBC’s This Is Us, and Days of Our Lives. Additional TV credits include Hawaii Five-0, Major Crimes, Crash & Bernstein, Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots, and the Emmy-winning digital drama The Bay (Peacock), where he earned both a Daytime Emmy for producing and, the following year, “Best Supporting Actor.” Manning currently recurs as “Smitty” on the groundbreaking daytime series Beyond the Gates (CBS).
His feature work ranges from the Spike Lee produced Son of the South and the faith-based blockbuster God’s Not Dead 3 to horror favorite The Call (with Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell), the Shudder Original Slapface, and the romantic comedy The Engagement Dress. He co-wrote and stars opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in Eyes in the Trees.
A Colorado theatre alum, Manning has appeared at Santa Monica Playhouse in Lisa Visca’s Climax (opposite Rae Dawn Chong) and Raise Me Up, and he is a prolific voice actor for Netflix global hits such as Money Heist, Lupin, and Welcome to Eden. Committed to social impact, he lobbied Congress for the Human Rights Campaign, sits on the boards of Boo2Bullying and Thirst Project, and has received proclamations from the New York City Council for his advocacy work.
Olivia Blue (Hartley)
Olivia Blue is a San Francisco native and NYU Tisch alum (Atlantic Acting Studio) whose career seamlessly blends acting, writing, and producing. She made her feature debut in Independent Spirit Award winner Adam Sherman’s This Game’s Called Murder and, during the pandemic, wrote and produced the indie drama Juniper, later acquired by STX and licensed to SHOWTIME and TUBI. Her second venture, Theater is Dead, recently wrapped with a cast led by Shane West.
On screen, Blue’s credits span TNT’s Animal Kingdom, HBO Max’s Holiday Harmony, Jody Hill’s The Suicide Squad Game (alongside Will Arnett and Ron Funches), and the female-centric audio series Fictionz starring Judy Greer. Off-screen, her one-act play Circle premiered at Archival LA, which she wrote and directed.
Away from set, Blue runs a small rescue farm outside Los Angeles, offering animal-assisted therapy to local cancer patients and survivors.
Michael Dunn (Frank)
Veteran character actor Michael Dunn hails from Miami, Florida, spent formative years in small-town Oregon, and earned his BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University. A staple of Los Angeles’s acclaimed 99-seat theatre scene, Dunn realized a childhood dream when he co-starred in the Public Theater’s penultimate Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (2010).
Television audiences know Dunn from guest roles on NCIS, Monk, Without a Trace, Hot in Cleveland, The Middle, and Two Broke Girls, while filmgoers saw him most recently in Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman.
Delighted to join the Unexpected Treasures ensemble, Dunn brings both gravitas and humor to the production—and reminds viewers, in true Frank spirit, “We are a Galactic Community!”
AnnaMaria DeMara (June)
Toronto-born AnnaMaria DeMara, of Guyanese and Ukrainian heritage, moved to Los Angeles to pursue professional dance before transitioning to acting under the tutelage of Arthur Mendoza (Stella Adler) and other respected coaches. Her screen work includes Nip/Tuck, Bomb Girls, Days of Our Lives, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Lucifer, Lost in Space, Private Eyes, and Richard Dreyfuss’s shark thriller Into the Deep.
A multi-hyphenate storyteller, DeMara wrote, produced, and starred in the short film Check, Please!—an official selection of Cannes Short Film Corner, DC Shorts, and LA Best Shorts—earning an Award of Merit for Female Filmmaking. She was later accepted into Women in Film’s Scripted Digital Series Incubator for her series in development, Singled Out!.
Passionate about maternal mental health, DeMara volunteers with Postpartum Support International, helping women secure cost-free resources. She is a proud single mother to an 11-year-old and infuses her work with themes of family, resilience, and (often) dance.
Lauren Han (Kaia)
Lauren is an actress, singer, and filmmaker born in Seoul, South Korea. Although she has spent most of her life in California, her formative years in Korea continue to shape her artistry, bringing a unique cultural perspective and depth to every role she takes on.
Han discovered her passion for acting at a young age and pursued extensive training in both acting and singing. She studied with world-renowned coaches and institutions, including HB Studio, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the Bel Canto Institute, and the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance.
On screen, Han has appeared in acclaimed, Emmy-winning series including Beef, Loot, Partners In Rhyme, Lines, and more. She has also had the privilege of playing iconic roles on stage, including O-Ren Ishii in Tarantino Live, Tuptim in The King and I, Mulan at Disneyland, as well as performances in Sweeney Todd, The Sound of Music, and The Addams Family.
Beyond her work on stage and screen, Han is an accomplished voice actor, with credits in Extracurricular, So Not Worth It, and narration and character voices for Like Nastya, one of the biggest YouTube channels globally. Outside of her artistic career, she is a passionate advocate for human and animal rights, using her platform to speak on behalf of those without a voice.
Jay Whittaker (The Bad Guy)
Jay has spent much of his career in the theatre in Chicago and New York. He usually plays bad guys. His film credits include Let’s Go to Prison (Bob Odenkirk, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon), Death of a President, Dust Clouds, The Sea, The Dreamer and the upcoming film Grey Matter. Jay’s Television credits are The Orville, Scream Queens, Chicago PD, Prison Break, Quick and Dirty, and Early Edition. Jay recently wrote a produced a short film called Bottom’s Dream that premiered at LA Shorts Fest last week.
In the theatre Jay has performed at The Royal Shakespeare’s Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Playwright’s Horizons, The Duke on 42 nd Street, The Shakespeare Theatre in DC., The Goodman Theatre, The Court Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre,The Huntington Theatre. Some of his favorite roles include Richard III, Angelo in Measure for Measure, Richard of Gloucester in Rose Rage, and Edgar in King Lear.
Rex Edhlund (Max)
Artist, publisher, philanthropist, and now actor, Rex Edhlund emerged from San Diego’s ’90s punk-zine scene, founding the iconic screen-print shop “The Store That Cannot Be Named” and the 10,000 sq ft art collective “The Loft.” His magazines Hypno and later Kulture Deluxe captured the city’s underground culture before he launched D-Town – The Downtown San Diego Newspaper, sparking projects such as the Urban Art Trail and Comic-Con International’s early design campaigns.
A lifelong community builder, Edhlund created the 501(c)(3) SUPERLITERATE, donating nearly 10,000 comics to boost childhood literacy. During the pandemic he relocated to Pioneertown, where he is hand-building San Bernardino County’s first fully permitted adobe home in three decades through his co-op Wild Mojave—continuing his mission to merge sustainability with art. Unexpected Treasures marks a natural extension of his multidisciplinary storytelling.
Aaron Groben (James)
Aaron Groben is a Los Angeles-based actor and romance-novel cover model whose career began in the Pacific Northwest’s indie-film circuit at age 10. A union actor since his Disney Channel debut, Groben earned a BFA in Acting in Hollywood and has since worked full-time in film, television, commercial, and voiceover.
Screen highlights include Lifetime’s feel-good rom-com [Title TBD], horror favorite Welcome to Daisyland opposite Pepi Sonuga, Art of the Dead with Tara Reid, the cult comedy Wally Got Wasted, and the detective thriller Voltaic Blood. Awkwafina hand-picked him to play her boyfriend for multiple seasons of the talk series Tawk. Fans will soon hear him lead a new animated series and spot him as spokesperson for several national fitness brands.
John Paul Ungaretti (writer/director)
JP is writer, director, and VFX professional based in São Paulo, Los Angeles, and
Pioneertown, CA.
He is a 15 year film industry professional and longstanding member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild. His alien adventure feature film, Unexpected Treasures, will be released in 2025.
John’s most recent work is on the post production team for multiple seasons of Netflix’s blockbuster series Outer Banks and ILM’s award-winning miniseries, Lost Ollie.
Previously, he was at Twentieth Century Fox Film, working alongside numerous award-winning and Oscar-nominated film editors. He is a proud alumni of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and is passionate about telling new, unusual stories for mainstream audiences.
Christina Heller (writer/producer)
Christina Heller (writer/producer) is a multimedia producer and entrepreneur with a passion
for creative technology. For the past decade she has led teams and created projects for virtual and augmented reality. She is currently an Executive Producer at Meta.
Christina was the founding CEO of Metastage from 2018 - 2023. During that time, Metastage completed over 200 productions with major brands and award winning projects, including two Emmy nominations. Prior to leading Metastage, Christina was the CEO of VR Playhouse, an immersive content company with projects featured at SXSW, Sundance, and Festival de Cannes. She is a recipient of the Advanced Imaging Society's Distinguished Leadership in Technology Award (2018), an AWE XR Hall of Fame inductee (2024), one of 2024's top "Women of the Future" and was named in the Huffington Post as one of 5 women changing the virtual reality scene.
Aline Andrade (Producer)
Aline Andrade (Producer) is a Brazilian-American producer, director, and screenwriter
based in the Los Angeles area and founder of Fine Frenzy Films. With a degree
in Film and Media Arts from the University of Utah, she has produced scripted
and documentary content for Netflix, National Geographic, PBS, Spotify, Hulu,
ABC, CNN, and FIFA+. Her mission is to ignite audiences through bold,
emotionally resonant stories that celebrate human resilience and the power to
overcome challenges. With multiple projects in development and festival
selections worldwide, she is building a storytelling brand driven by vision and
grit. Aline is a member of Women Independent Producers (WIP) and the
Producers Guild of America (PGA).
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