Manny Jacinto Opened Up About Being Cut From ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

By Mike Redmond | Celebrity | July 18, 2024 |

By Mike Redmond | Celebrity | July 18, 2024 |

Thanks to his breakout performance in The Acolyte, which launched him into the stratosphere, Manny Jacinto brought a level of raw thirst that Star Wars has never seen outside of fan-fiction.

Gallons of digital ink have been spilled about Jacinto’s arms, but I’d be remiss if I reduced his role to just mere eye candy. Jacinto delivers scathing lines with a playful menace before effortlessly switching gears to a sensual Sith who seduces both Osha and the audience to the Dark Side. The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland knew raw… everything when she saw it, and she did not squander it.

“The Stranger flips classic gender tropes of hypersexualization,” Headland told GQ about Jacinto’s character. “But a true sex symbol is someone who resonates emotionally with fans. Manny’s magnetism is rooted in his acting, not just his physique. His ability to access vulnerability, empathy, and longing is very compelling.”

While The Acolyte made ample use of Jacinto’s talents, Top Gun: Maverick infamously went the other direction. After Jacinto’s casting made headlines thanks to his beloved role as Jason Mendoza in The Good Place, fans couldn’t help but notice that he was basically missing from the Tom Cruise film. (He’s in the volleyball scene, but good luck spotting him.)

His absence from Top Gun: Maverick was especially stinging because Jacinto went through the film’s rigorous flight training and gave an interview in 2022 about how proud he was to bring representation to the blockbuster franchise and honor the Filipino service members he met while working with the Air Force and Navy. And then every single one of his lines was cut from the film.

Via GQ:

“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me,” Jacinto told me regarding his diminished role. “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. Fortunately, it still was a great experience — you get to see this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise.”

Despite his typically cheery Canuck optimism, however, Jacinto admitted the disappointment lit a fire under him. “It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,” he said. “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.”

Obviously, Jacinto’s fortunes have turned. When Episode 5 of The Acolyte dropped, there was a palpable vibe shift as the show’s throng of haters were quieted when The Stranger ripped through the Jedi in one of the best lightsaber fights in Star Wars history. Jacinto then spent the next episode buck naked, which effectively turned the internet into goo the moment the GIFs started churning. Although, he’s pretty humble about it.

“I mean, I think baby oil goes a long way,” Jacinto said. “Baby oil and wet hair.”

You can read Manny Jacinto’s full interview with GQ here.