Manny Jacinto is having a career’s peak with his role of Quimir in Disney+ new Star War series “The Acolyte.” While the Canadian actor was known for starring in “The Good Place,” thanks to he has become the current Internet’s boyfriend.
But, behind the tons of fancams and edits, Jacinto has been putting in the work to build a strong career. Apart from his work as fan-fave himbo Jason Mendoza in “The Good Place,” he also starred in Hulu’s drama series “Nine Perfect Strangers” opposite Nicole Kidman.
However, what could have been one of his biggest roles in recent years in Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” ended up being just a few background appearances. And, for the first time, Jacinto has revealed that he didn’t know that his lines were cut from the film. Here’s what he said.
Manny Jacinto says it wasn’t ‘shocking’ his scenes were cut from ‘Maverick’
In a new interview with GQ, published on July 17, Jacinto shared that he wasn’t shocked when his role was cut out of “Top Gun: Maverick,” but saying that it was “flattering” that there was “a little bit of an outcry.”
“There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes,” he told the magazine. He added that “it still was a great experience,” as he got to watch “this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise.”
Manny Jacinto in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (IMDb)
However, he says that experience “fuels” him, “because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. It’s up to us—Asian Americans, people of color—to be that [for ourselves]. We can’t wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves.”
“Maybe it’s my lack of faith in this industry, but the people of color who find success, I feel like they still have to work at it and continue to fight for roles,” he said. He named Steven Yeun, Kumail Nanjiani, and Donald Glover as some of examples of having to create project for themselves.
“Or even look at Dev Patel! He’s a huge star, but he had to make Monkey Man himself [to get an action role like that], and that was even shelved at one point. That’s crazy to me. So that’s why I have this caution towards whether or not the industry will move things forward for my career. If anything, it fuels me to try and create things on my own terms and hopefully lead projects that way,” he explained.
And, according to the interview, he is collaborating with a handful of Filipino writers and producers to develop new work. However, he says that he would also like to act in an indie, or a big franchise. Fans of the actor will certainly cherish that.
