Manny Jacinto

Manuel Luis Jacinto^[1][2] (/dʒəˈsɪntoʊ/ jə-SIN-toh;^[3] born 1986 or 1987^[4]) is a Filipino-Canadian actor. After several small roles on television, his breakout role came as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016–2020). Jacinto had minor roles in Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and portrayed Qimir in the Star Wars series The Acolyte (2024). He also provided the voice of Scott Denoga in the Disney Channel animated series Hailey's On It! (2023–2024).

Manny Jacinto
Jacinto at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Manuel Luis Jacinto 1986 or 1987 (age 37–38) Quezon City, Philippines
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2012–present
Spouse	Dianne Doan

Early life

Jacinto was born in Quezon City, Philippines and is of Filipino-Chinese heritage.^[5][6] His family immigrated to Canada in 1990,^[7] when he was about three years old.^[8] He was raised in Richmond, British Columbia.^[9] He grew up playing baseball^[4] and basketball,^[10] and attended an all-boys Catholic high school, Vancouver College.^[4][11]

He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia.^[4][12][13]

Career

While interning, Jacinto participated in hip-hop dance competitions^[14] before deciding on acting as a career.^[9][8] He became frustrated by the lack of prominent Asian actors in Vancouver's film community and moved to Los Angeles.^[15] After small roles in series including Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, and iZombie; he was cast in 2015 as triad leader Wing Lei in the Canadian spy drama The Romeo Section by Chris Haddock. The role won him a Leo Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Dramatic Series.^[16] In 2016, Jacinto was cast as Jason Mendoza in the NBC comedy The Good Place.^[17] He received favourable reviews for his performance as Mendoza, an EDM-obsessed "lovable doofus" from Jacksonville, Florida, going against stereotypes of how Asian men are often portrayed in Hollywood.^{[18][19][20][21]}

In September 2018, Jacinto was cast in the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.^[22] In November 2019, it was announced that Jacinto would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.^[23] It was released on August 13, 2021.^[24] In November 2021, it was announced that Jacinto would voice Scott in the animated comedy-adventure series Hailey's On It!, which premiered in June 2023 on Disney Channel.^[25] In 2022, Jacinto voiced Lucan in the eight-episode sci-fi podcast Marigold Breach, alongside his Good Place co-star Jameela Jamil.^[26] He portrayed Qimir in 2024's The Acolyte.^[27]

Personal life

In November 2019, Jacinto announced that he was engaged to Canadian actress Dianne Doan.^[28] He lives in Los Angeles.^[29]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Broken Sword: Shadow of the Blade	Kenji	Short film
2013	Tele	Tommy
	John Apple Jack	Street Kid
	#Fix	Adam	Short film
2015	Dead Rising: Watchtower	Desk Soldier
	Even Lambs Have Teeth	Vince
	Brittney Grabill: Goodnight	Dan	Short film
2016	Peelers	Travis
2017	Chocolate Cake	Tim	Short film
2018	Bad Times at the El Royale	Waring 'Wade' Espiritu	[30]
2022	Belle	Shinobu "Shinobu-kun" Hisatake (voice)	English dub[31]
	I Want You Back	Logan
	Top Gun: Maverick	Lieutenant Billy "Fritz" Avalone
	Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind	Kenshi (voice)	[32]
2023	Cora Bora	Tom
2024	The Knife †	Officer Padilla	Post-production
2025	Freakier Friday †	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Balestra †	Elliot

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Once Upon a Time	Quon	Episode: "Selfless, Brave and True"[1]
	Supernatural	Diego	Episode: "Pac-Man Fever"
	Untold Stories of the E.R.	Security Guard	Episode: "Down for the Count"
2014	The 100	Boy #1 / Boy Bullied by Murphy	2 episodes
	Rogue	Bellhop	Episode: "Oh Sarah"
	Lighthouse	Sexy Guy Dancing	Television film
	Rush	P.A.	Episode: "Because I Got High"
	The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story	Eric	Television film
	Paper Angels	Jamie Lang
	Only Human	Kevin
2015	Bates Motel	Loner Guy	Episode: "Unbreak-Able"
	iZombie	Sammy	Episode: "Liv and Let Clive"
	Backstrom	Tattooed Punk	Episode: "Corkscrewed"
	Wayward Pines	Lab Assistant	Episode: "Choices"
	The Romeo Section	Wing Lei	10 episodes
2016	Roadies	Runner	Episode: "Life Is a Carnival"
2016–2020	The Good Place	Jason Mendoza	Main role
2017	The Good Doctor	Bobby Ato	Episode: "Sacrifice"
2020	Magical Girl Friendship Squad	Coffee Dude	Voice role; 2 episodes
2021	Trese	Maliksi	English dub
	Brand New Cherry Flavor	Code	Main role
	Nine Perfect Strangers	Yao	Main role (season 1)
2023–2024	Hailey's On It!	Scott Denoga	Voice role; main role
2024	Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur	Brian Glory / Blue Streak	Voice role; episode: "Roller Jam!"
	Chibiverse	Scott Denoga	Voice role; episode: "The Chibi Couple Game"
	The Acolyte	Qimir	Main role
TBA	Bedrock †	Bamm-Bamm Rubble	Voice[33]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2016	Leo Awards	Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series	The Romeo Section	Nominated
2018	Gold Derby Awards	Ensemble of the Year	The Good Place	Nominated

References

1. "Manny Jacinto". TV Guide. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
2. Cabana, Ysh (August 12, 2024). "Manny Jacinto". Canadian Encyclopedia.
3. "Full Interview || Character Conversations: Tan France & Manny Jacinto". Character Media. February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
4. Hoekstra, Matthew (September 23, 2014). "20 questions with Manny Jacinto". Richmond Review. Richmond, British Columbia. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2018. The 27-year-old...
5. Hicap, Jonathan (June 5, 2024). "Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto ecstatic about bagging role in 'Star Wars: The Acolyte'". Retrieved August 15, 2024.
6. Quadra-Balibay, Aurora (September 26, 2019). "Manny Jacinto to star alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick". Good News Pilipinas. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
7. Chavez, Yong (December 7, 2016). "Manny Jacinto on 'The Good Place'". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
8. "Manny Jacinto on The Good Place". Balitang America. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
9. "The Romeo Section Cast: Manny Jacinto". Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
10. Nguyen, Kevin (February 1, 2018). "Manny Jacinto Is No Dummy—He Just Plays One on 'The Good Place'". GQ. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
11. "Manny Jacinto – The Good Place". Starry Constellation Magazine. October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
12. Soloski, Alexis (November 22, 2019). "Manny Jacinto of 'The Good Place' Plummets to Earth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
13. "Manny Jacinto of 'The Good Place' puts a lot of thought into lovable dummy Jason Mendoza". Los Angeles Times. May 8, 2019. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
14. Raphael, Philip. "Engineering a career in show business". Richmond News. Richmond, British Columbia. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
15. "Manny Jacinto is No Dummy—He Just Plays One on 'The Good Place'". February 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
16. "Manny Jacinto". NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
17. Petski, Denise (March 3, 2016). "Good Place NBC comedy series casts Manny Jacinto; Julie Goldman joins ABC's Weeks/Mackay Project". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
18. "'You never see a dumb Asian on network television': The Good Place's Manny Jacinto on playing against type". CBC Radio. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
19. Grubb, Brian (January 11, 2018). "Jason Mendoza From 'The Good Place' Is The Best Doofus On Television". Uproxx. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2018. Note: Archive requires scrooldown.
20. Mathews, Liam (September 29, 2016). "The Good Place Just Found Its Tom Haverford". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
21. Hwang, Sora (Spring 2017). "The Good Place's Manny Jacinto on Playing a Non-Stereotypical Asian Role". Mochi. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
22. D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 27, 2018). "'Top Gun: Maverick' Taps 'The Good Place's Manny Jacinto For Pilot Duty". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
23. Andreeva, Nellie (November 15, 2019). "N'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Series Headlined By Rosa Salazar A Go At Netflix; Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Jeff Ward & Manny Jacinto Co-Star In Horror Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
24. Cordero, Rosy (July 19, 2021). "Rosa Salazar Goes Dark In Netflix's 'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Teaser Trailer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
25. "'Hailey's On It!', an Animated Comedy-Adventure Series About a Teen Who Must Overcome Her Fears in Order To Save the World, Greenlit by Disney Branded Television" (Press release). Disney Branded Television. November 18, 2021. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022 – via Disney General Entertainment Content.
26. "Marigold Breach".
27. Stevens, Matt (July 17, 2024). "Manny Jacinto Turns to the Dark Side in 'The Acolyte'". The New York Times.
28. "The Good Place's Manny Jacinto Engaged to Longtime Girlfriend Dianne Doan". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
29. Morales, Nicole Limos (March 8, 2019). "Manny Jacinto Is Definitely in a Good Place: The Filipino-Born Actor on His Journey to Hollywood". Town & Country. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019. I moved to Los Angeles because of the show [The Good Place] when Vancouver was my home, so that was a huge change.
30. "Fox Heavy Hitters Celebrate Drew Goddard's 'Bad Times at the El Royale'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
31. "Mamoru Hosoda's Belle Film Reveals English Trailer, Dub Cast". Anime News Network. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
32. "Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind Voice Cast and Plot Details Revealed". August 3, 2022.
33. Dick, Jeremy (March 10, 2023). "Flintstones Sequel Series Starring Elizabeth Banks as an Adult Pebbles Moves Forward at Fox". MovieWeb. Retrieved September 22, 2023.

External links

• Manny Jacinto at IMDb