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Tate’s had it rough on Days of Our Lives from pretty much the moment he set foot in Salem, kicked out of his school to be set on the straight and narrow by dad Brady. From unrequited love for Holly, to being arrested and shipped off to rehab for a drug problem he doesn’t have, the poor teen’s been through the ringer.

Now, though, he’s back home (albeit in a half-way house) and after lashing out at Brady, it looks like he’s finally starting to realize his dad just wants to help. Because through it all, the helpless dad has just been trying everything he can to protect his kid. Not that Tate’s seen it that way. But then, that’s what teenagers do — lash out at their parents when they’re hurt and scared.

When we spoke with Eric Martsolf a little while back, he had plenty to say about getting Jamie Martin Mann as his TV son, Tate’s problems and the perils of fatherhood. Part of what makes Tate resonate so much with viewers has been, Martsolf says, thanks to Mann.

“He was extremely open to hearing my opinion about his choices and the genre and understanding soap opera for what it was,” he recalled. “It’s not often that you have a kid that young who is so open to vulnerability and being humble about what he’s doing. I think that’s part of why he’s coming across so well is because he’s humble and excited to come to work and they threw him in the fire.”

He chuckles a bit at Tate’s entrance. “It’s like, ‘OK, you’re the problematic kid and by the way, you’re responsible for this girl’s overdose. Ready, go!’ This soap opera thing is no longer for the weary.”

In short, Martsolf couldn’t be happier with how it’s all turned out. When asked how he felt when he found out Tate would be aged up to a teenager, the actor didn’t hesitate for a second.

“I was thrilled,” he shared. “I still can’t freaking believe that I’m the father of two 17-year-old boys because I’m kind of a child myself. But no, it’s true. I am a dad and I was thrilled to find out that they were going to age him quite specifically to the age of my own children.”

More: Lamon Archey on the ‘heavy hit’ headed for ‘Elani’

In his early soap days on Passions, his character, Ethan, had played a father to Little Ethan. It was, he admits now, a bit of stretch. It’s not easy to fake fatherhood until you’ve been there. But now that he’s where Brady is in life (with far less drama), he can infuse that into his character.

“You brought [your children into the world] and the sense of responsibility you have for their well being is crazy,” he marveled. “There’s truckloads of responsibility on your head about keeping these kids safe and taken care of. So I relate, man. I get where Brady’s coming from. There simply isn’t anything you wouldn’t do. You’d throw yourself in front of a bus for them. That’s just most parents’ instinct.”

As for working with Mann, Martsolf says it’s been easy to find a connection right from the start.

“I had not known Jamie previously and he came on,” he shared, “he’s a tall kid. I’m like, ‘Wow, ok, here we go. He could beat me in basketball with his hands behind his back.’ It turns out he and I have a lot in common too. He is a theatrical guy. He loves performance art, he loves to sing, he loves to dance and that’s where I come from as well. So we kind of gelled immediately.”

And from all accounts, he’s gelled with the fans too — to the point that many have been siding with him against his parents! Brady and Theresa may have no shortness of love, but they haven’t exactly been the most stable forces in their son’s life. Viewers get why he’s been so ticked with them, especially after being sent off to rehab for a drug problem he most definitely doesn’t have!

Back when Tate first left, Martsolf told us not to worry, there was plenty more to come. “He’s gonna be around.” After all, “He’s the next generation. With Holly and Tate and the young ones coming aboard, it’s just the natural progression of things. It also creates that layered family dynamic that soap lovers love.”

In other words, this return is just the start.