Manny Jacinto’s star continues to rise! After his breakthrough role as Jason Mendoza in the hit sitcom The Good Place, the Filipino-Canadian actor is steady on everyone’s radar as Star Wars’ latest dark-sider, Qimir (a.k.a. The Stranger) in The Acolyte series.
Born in Metro Manila but raised in Canada, the full-blooded Filipino actor has grown a following across the globe. But for those unitiated in the world of Manny, we’re glad to welcome them in. Ahead, get to know the new Hollywood matinee idol in Preview’s 10-thing fact sheet.
10 Facts About Filipino-Canadian Actor Manny Jacinto
1. Manny Jacinto is a Leo.
The Filipino-Canadian actor was born on August 19, making him a loud and proud Leo.
2. Manny Jacinto was born in Quezon City, Philippines.
Before he made his way to the Hollywood Hills, Manny was born in Quezon City, Philippines. With the help of his mother’s aunt who sponsored them, he and his family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada when Manny was just three years old.
At one point, he had even considered pursuing acting in the Philippines. However, he had pushed through with his dream and made his way State-side. “I remember there was an opportunity for me to go to Asia, or back to the Philippines and do it there... But in my heart, I knew I had to do this here in America,” Manny said in his cover story for Flaunt.
“I was like: ‘I don’t want to run away from this fight, I want to stay and try and change things.’ It’s more worth it to me to be the guy who’s pushing the envelope, rather than the one who follows, or just goes with the flow.”
3. Manny Jacinto studied civil engineering in college.
Prior to acting, Manny was a college student majoring in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia, considered one of the top universities in Canada.
According to the actor, he had originally sought to become a pharmacist but had failed the prerequisite chemistry class. “After that, I looked at the different subjects and I thought hey, if my dad can be an engineer, why can’t I?” he said to Town & Country Philippines. “I figured I’d just go in that same direction.”
4. Manny Jacinto used to be a hip-hop dancer.
Acting wasn’t Manny’s first foray into performance, as he was previously a hip-hop dancer. As a college student at the University of British Columbia, Manny would intern with companies, and once the night fell, he switched to his dancer alter-ego!
He and his group would perform in competitions like the Las Vegas World Hip-Hop Championships, where they would place an impressive 11th or 10th out of 51 countries. Manny fell in love with the performance aspect, which would later be reflected in his acting.
5. Manny Jacinto is an introvert.
Despite his love for performance and the nature of the job, Manny is a self-professed introvert. He described himself as “more introverted and laidback” than his character in The Good Place, and this side of his personality is even manifested through his fashion choices.
“I always love a good turtleneck, and a long trench coat. I'm trying to think about it without over-analyzing it, but perhaps it's because they cover a lot of my body and act almost like a shield,” he told COS in the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2021 magazine. “I'm not the biggest extrovert. I like to be a fly on the wall, and observe others. Those pieces of clothing allow me to feel like I'm hiding.”
6. Manny Jacinto’s breakout role was in “The Good Place.”
Audiences will best remember Manny as the lovable goofball Jason Mendoza in the sitcom The Good Place, which ran for four seasons from 2016 to 2020, co-starring the likes of Kristen Bell and Ted Danson.
In the series set in a comedic and existential afterlife, the actor portrays Jason, a Filipino-American DJ and drug dealer from Jacksonville, Florida, who is depicted as a childish yet kindhearted character.
“It definitely opened a lot of doors,” he told Flaunt, regarding why The Good Place’s Jason was his breakthrough role. “It came out at a time, again, going back to the state of the world, previously, it came out at a time [the 2016 Trump era] when people needed to laugh. And I think that’s why it resonated so much. It taught us how to laugh, to laugh at things, but also presented huge moral questions: ‘What’s it like to be a good person?’ ‘What does it mean to be a good person?’ ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘What is our purpose?’ And all different sorts of philosophies, from Nihilism to Stoicism... all bundled up in a little fart joke.”
7. Manny Jacinto was in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Manny appears in the 2022 Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, although his role ended up spliced as blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moments. He stars as the pilot Fritz in brief moments with no dialogue, but it was originally meant to be a bigger role.
According to the movie’s director Joseph Kosinski, this was due to the constraints of the movie’s final cut. “When we shot the film, everybody had lines, everybody had scenes, so it was all there in the script and in shooting it. And there are great scenes that are on the cutting-room floor,” he told IndieWire. “You just don’t have room to fit everything in… You end up throwing out stuff that you are sure, when you’re shooting it, will absolutely be in the movie. When you’re coming down to the final cut and focusing on the story you’re telling, stuff has to fall away for the good of the film.”
“Unfortunately for Manny, Kara [Wang], Jake [Picking], Raymond [Lee], and Jack [Schumacher], their lines didn’t make it into the final film,” he continued, referencing the other whose roles were curtailed in the cutting room floor. “It has nothing to do with their performance or their abilities at all; it only has to do with the story of the film and trying to make the best version.”
8. Manny Jacinto plays a villain in the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte.”
Manny makes a 180-degree turn from the kooky Jason to Qimir in the Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte, who is later unveiled (spoiler alert!) as the villainous The Stranger.
To prepare for the role, Manny would practice by speaking in character as Qimir during his trips to the grocery store, and then switching to The Stranger to test his duality. In an interview with StarWars.com, it was revealed that Manny’s background in dance helped him with learning the ropes of lightsaber duels and fight choreographies. According to the article, he strived to do as many of his own stunts as possible!
9. Manny Jacinto got engaged in 2019.
Manny found the love of his life with Vietnamese-Canadian actress Dianne Doan, who he proposed to in 2019. After being inspired by a certain The Good Place line about relationships, the actor popped the question to Dianne by taking her to places where they’ve shared their significant moments–the place where they met, had their first date, and the like–until he got down on one knee with their families in attendance.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May 2024, Manny refers to Dianne as “his wife”—so wedding bells may have already rung!
10. You can follow Manny Jacinto on Instagram.
Get updated on Manny’s projects on his Instagram page!
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