Manny Jacinto

Manuel Luis Jacinto^[1][2] (/dʒəˈsɪntoʊ/ jə-SIN-toh;^[3] Filipino: [haˈsɪnto] born August 19, 1987^[4]) is a 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 (1987-08-19) August 19, 1987 (age 37) Manila, Philippines
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2012–present
Spouse	Dianne Doan (2019-present)

Early life

Jacinto was born in Manila, Philippines,^[5][6] and is of Filipino-Chinese descent.^[6][7][8] His family immigrated to Canada in 1990,^[9] when he was about three years old.^[10] He was raised in Richmond, British Columbia.^[11] He grew up playing baseball^[4] and basketball,^[12] and attended an all-boys Catholic high school, Vancouver College.^[4][13]

He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia.^[4][14][15]

Career

While interning, Jacinto participated in hip-hop dance competitions^[16] before deciding on acting as a career.^[11][17] He became frustrated by the lack of prominent Asian actors in Vancouver's film community and moved to Los Angeles.^[18] 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.^[19] In 2016, Jacinto was cast as Jason Mendoza in the NBC comedy The Good Place.^[20] 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.^{[21][22][23][24]}

In September 2018, Jacinto was cast in the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.^[25] In November 2019, it was announced that Jacinto would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.^[26] It was released on August 13, 2021.^[27] 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.^[28] In 2022, Jacinto voiced Lucan in the eight-episode sci-fi podcast Marigold Breach, alongside his Good Place co-star Jameela Jamil.^[29] He portrayed Qimir in 2024's The Acolyte.^[30]

Personal life

In November 2019, Jacinto announced that he was engaged to Descendants actress Dianne Doan.^[31] He lives in Los Angeles.^[32]

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	[33]
2022	Belle	Shinobu "Shinobu-kun" Hisatake (voice)	English dub[34]
	I Want You Back	Logan
	Top Gun: Maverick	Lieutenant Billy "Fritz" Avalone
	Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind	Kenshi (voice)	[35]
2023	Cora Bora	Tom
2024	The Knife	Officer Padilla
	Balestra	Elliot
2025	Freakier Friday †	Eric Davies	Post-production
TBA	Love Language †	TBA	Post-production

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; 2 episodes
2024–2025	Chibiverse	Scott Denoga	Voice role; 2 episodes
2024	Hailey Banks' Disney Mini Movie Marathon		Voice role; television special
	The Acolyte	Qimir / The Stranger	Main role
TBA	Bedrock †	Bamm-Bamm Rubble	Voice[36]

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2023	Theme Song Takeover	Scott Denoga (voice)	3 episodes
	Broken Karaoke		1 episode
2024	Hailey's On It!: Road Trip		Short series

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2016	Leo Awards	Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series	The Romeo Section	Nominated	[37]
2018	Gold Derby Awards	Ensemble of the Year	The Good Place	Nominated
2025	Canadian Screen Awards	Radius Award	Himself	Honored	[38]