I usually try to avoid any and all spoilers before seeing a thriller, so I went into Angelina Jolie's spy flick, Salt, with blinders on. (And, never fear, I won't spoil anything here.) I knew the plot concerned a CIA operative accused of being a Russian sleeper agent, and I was determined not to ruin any surprises.

Well, imagine my surprise to see that the film's president of the United States was played by Hunt Block! Block was my favorite incarnation of AS THE WORLD TURNS' Craig (Sorry, Jon Lindstrom), and I was delighted to see that he portrayed fictional President Lewis with the same laconic charm that he brought to the shady Mr. Montgomery. But Block also lent Lewis a real sense of gravitas. I was surprised at what a great commander-in-chief Block made.

Another veteran of ATWT, former Faith Cassidy Hinkle, has a featured role in several flashback sequences. In addition, a couple of other soap stars have blink-and-you'll-miss-'em roles: Victor Slezak goes from dead sleazeball politician Silas on ATWT to a one-star general in the movie; ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Tika Sumpter (Layla) runs the front desk at Langley, while castmate Kamar de Los Reyes (Antonio) plays a Secret Service agent; and Michelle Ray Smith (ex-Ava, GUIDING LIGHT) can be seen in a key bunker scene.

And, by the way, I really enjoyed Salt. Jolie is a charismatic lead, and the story went in a direction that I didn't quite expect. The action sequences were a bit outlandish, but the story was so entertaining that I was willing to take it all with a grain of...salt.