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Actors love spouting life lessons. Sometimes it’sabout looking within, or being thankful, or being true to the spirit of the craft. The lesson Manny Jacinto takes with him to this day? It’s a lot more straightforward: “Don’t throw chairs.”
Nonsensical? Perhaps, but for Jacinto, the exhortation is literal. Born in Manila, Phillipines, but raised in British Columbia, Jacinto fell in love with showbiz when he took a dance class in college. After graduation, he began auditioning for various bit parts in Vancouver’s film community, which put him in front of an unnamed but important casting director. “It was a really intense scene and whenever I audition, I’m always like, ‘What’s the special way people will remember me?’ Because I’m an artist,” Jacinto tells Rolling Stone, his voice mocking and amused. “It’s the climax of the monologue and I throw the chair. I’m fired up and feel so great and my artist cup feels so full. And then once the cameras stop recording, the [casting director] goes ‘Never do that in my office again.’”
Now 37, Jacinto is a long way from the acting newbie who launched that seat into a Canadian wall. But as an introspective person, he can’t help but note there’s an element of this that he’s taken with him to this new phase of his career: a drive to prove people wrong. Jacinto’s gone from bit parts in ABC and CW series like The 100 and Once Upon a Timeto mainstream roles like the loveable idiot Jason Mendoza in the moral-philosophy sitcom The Good Place, all while developing an extremely vocal internet fan club that feels like it would be more in line with the leading man from a summer blockbuster instead of a someone known for single-episode stints on shows like The Good Doctor and iZombie. And now, he’s starring in the highly anticipated sequel Freakier Friday as Lindsay Lohan’s love interest Eric, a single father and chef with a heart-melting British accent. In modern terms, that basically makes him a Disney prince — a fact that his fans are eagerly celebrating.
But even a starring role opposite the nostalgia queen herself can’t erase the facts. Jacinto is more than a pretty face, he’s a proven talent with the demonstrated ability to succeed in far flung comedies and nitty gritty psychological work. But right now he’s known for the almost — something that happens a lot with actors of color who have undeniable face cards but haven’t been given the roles to back those features up. Jacinto was cast in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, only to be relegated to a silent face at the corner of the screen. He made his debut in the Star Wars universe as a mysterious, lightsaber-wielding villain in The Acolyte, only to have Disney cancel the show after one season. It’s a situation that could turn the most humble of actors into frosty statues of resentment. But while setbacks can be frustrating, he’s using each and every one to teach him something new, and prove he’s ready for the career his biggest fans think he deserves.
“It’s this stubbornness that I’ve always had. You tell me that I can’t do something, or you tell me that I’m not good enough for this, then I will just work my ass off to prove you wrong,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Put me in, Coach.’”
Jacinto chatted with Rolling Stone about his ache to bring back rom coms, the bliss of working with women directors, and what it takes to play a memorable leading man.
You’re starring across from Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in Freakier Friday, which is an absolutely huge film for people who still remember all the lyrics to “Take Me Away.” What’s your history with the movie?
I mean, I saw it just like any other kid at the mall, with my sister, my parents. I wanna say I was 15 at the time and Lindsay was everywhere. She obviously did Parent Trap and I think she was about to do Mean Girls. I was just a regular kid going to the theater, and never would have thought I’d be here. Coming into it knowing that it was a big franchise and a huge success, there is a little bit of pressure. But because [Eric] is new, I don’t have those preconceived ideas of what my character should be. So I had a little bit of free reign, which is nice.
My favorite scene of yours is by far the Dirty Dancing sequence, which sees you doing everything from tango to attempting the film’s very famous lift. Tell me how you brought your dancing experience to the part.
I started dancing when I was in college. I’m a really late bloomer, but then I just fell in love with it. I mean, I say this over and over again, there’s no way that I would be an actor if I wasn’t a dancer first. Knowing your body is incredibly key for me as an actor. But also just a lot of the principles that I learned as a dancer apply very much so to acting. The idea of rehearsing and rehearsing and rehearsing and then just letting it all go on stage is the exact same concept that I use when I’m rehearsing for a scene. When the camera rolls, I just throw everything out the door and just connect and be present with the person opposite of me.
Most people were introduced to you through the Good Place, where you play lovable, kind-of-smart idiot Jason Mendoza.
Kind of smart? Damn!
People underestimate Jason! He was smarter than people give him credit for. But what was it like to have your first mainstream role be in a comedy that’s so difficult to describe? Were you surprised that it became such a phenomenon?
You come out of that and you’re like, “How do I follow that up?’” It’s just like, “How do I do anything else after, this experience, after working with these incredible people, after being on a sitcom that teaches you about moral philosophy?” It was peak high-concept comedy television. Like, how do you top that? The opportunities that have been afforded to me after the fact is definitely a result from being on that show. Without The Good Place, I wouldn’t have been on Star Wars. Without The Good Place, I wouldn’t have been on Freakier Friday. I am forever grateful for that show. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. When you do it, you’re just in this small bubble, and you’re just seeing the lines, you’re doing the scenes. At the time, it was just us hanging out saying fart jokes. You never really think that it would have such a huge worldwide impact.
Why do you think people connected so much with Jason?
He’s a dummy. [Laughs.] No, I think for me personally, the quote-unquote “dumb characters” on sitcoms were the ones that I always connected with. I don’t know what that means for my intelligence or moral character, but it was always the sweet dummies that I love watching. Like Joey from Friends or Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation, those guys were the man. It’s also that [Jason] has a huge heart. He may not be intelligent, he’s not book smart, but he’s definitely emotionally intelligent. He wears his heart on his sleeve. And I think a lot of people can use that, especially nowadays.
Jason’s romance with Janet remains the highlight of the show for me. Something that I’ve been curious about is howyour online fandom seems desperate for you to star in romances, specifically. Do you think romantic roles have shaped your career?
Yes. I’m very traditional in how I view relationships and the idea of romance. Maybe it was the movies that I watched growing up, I was like, ‘I want that for myself.’It could alsobe seeing my parents so committed to one another, but there’s something so special about being able to stay with a partner for decades. That’s the harder choice, the harder path. I’m definitely trying to keep romance alive in [my work].
That’s an admirable goal, but something that has to be difficult, considering our society and entertainment industry doesn’t often give these heartthrob, leading man roles to Asian men.
Well, first of all I’ve got to give so much credit and kudos to our [Freakier Friday] director Nisha Ganatra because she was the one who saw me in the role of Eric. She’s South Asian, and she knows the stereotypes, the tropes that are unfortunately put on Asian males, but Asian people in general. So she was like, “I want to flip the script. I want to see a strong, romantic Asian husband and father figure.”That’s always been the path ever since I started acting. I think one of the greatest drives for me is to take on roles that people haven’t seen before, and also to tamp down those stereotypes I unfortunately had to watch growing up as a kid. But it’s with collaborators like Nisha that I’m able to find a lot of strength and actually get things done.
How do you balance this drive with the actuality of setbacks? Your lines in Top Gun got cut, The Acolyte got cancelled. What feelings came up for you?
It’s this stubbornness I’ve got, or ambition, where it’s like “You can’t tell me, no.” I will push through and get this done. I guess we can call it a setback, and from an outsider’s perspective, it could be a setback. But with Top Gun: Maverick, like, I was able to see how Tom Cruise worked, and why he’s so successful. This is why he’s one of the last action movie stars, because of his work ethic, because of how he gets things done. So I try to see the positive, if anything, but also take the fuel of people not believing in me.
While The Acolyte was cancelled, it doesn’t mean that your character Quimir couldn’t show up in other Star Wars properties. Would you ever reprise the role?
If they’ll have me, and if my lower back doesn’t hurt, I’m definitely more than willing to come back.
The Sith lightsaber training really kicked your ass that bad?
The training was the best. I loved it. There were days where I would be training a stunt and I would just start laughing because I was in pain, but also I was living out my dream. It was a mix of happy and painful tears. It was a lot ofphysical work, and luckily, I was built up to succeed with the team around me. Even if my body wasn’t cooperating, I would do anything to run it back.
Being a successful leading man and a romantic interest is somewhat about having a pretty face, but often more about the right kind of vibe. What characteristics do you think make the best romantic lead?
Obviously chemistry is key. Stepping into this role, I was more so concerned about, like, the comedy beats, because that was the thing Nisha was really bringing me in for. And then as the character developed, we found the true heart of Eric and the role that he plays within his family. It’s vulnerable male characters that make for great romantic films. From all the romantic films that I can think of, whether it be Notting Hill or Love Actually or The Notebook — it’s men that are vulnerable that are the key element.
You’ve become pretty well known for working with female directors. Is that conscious choice? And what has that experience brought out in your work?
Women directors are everything that’s missing in our industry.I think that’s the reason why I really connect with them because they’ve gone through —and still go through — that same struggle of being seen in this industry. As a person of color, you don’t get a lot of opportunities, and you have to present work that’s top tier. And I think with a lot of women directors, they share that exact same sentiment. No one’s gonna pay attention to them unless it’s a billion dollar hit or a sold out theater. And we share that struggle. We share, again, that drive, that stubbornness to prove people wrong.
Their point of view and vision is just so much more refreshing. They’re not stuck in certain ways of how to tell stories. I owe so much to a lot of women directors and women creators in this industry. Whether it be people of color or just women in general, we need a different perspective.
Do you feel like you have to combat stereotypes that romances aren’t as serious or important as other film genres?
I don’t know. You think about the Netflix rom com, and it’s available to anyone and everyone with the Netflix subscription. But the unfortunate aspect of it is that rom coms aren’t necessarily on the big screen anymore, and you’re not able to have that visceral experience. You’re stuck at home, you have your phone, you’re distracted, all these things come into play. I think romances are important. They need to be given as much thought and financial backing as some of these other projects,or else we’ll just constantly end up with these Hallmark movies of the day. I mean, nothing wrong with the Hallmark movies, my mom watches them all the time. But I think people are craving another Notebook, another The Holiday or Love Actually. And hopefully we can get back to that.
