Manuel Luis Jacinto[1] (/dʒəˈsɪntoʊ/ jə-SIN-toh;[2] born 1986 or 1987[3]) 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).
Manny Jacinto | |
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Born | Manuel Luis Jacinto 1986 or 1987 (age 36–37) Manila, Philippines |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | University of British Columbia |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2012–present |
Jacinto has appeared as Waring "Wade" Espiritu in the neo-noir thriller film Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and as Fritz in the action drama film Top Gun: Maverick (2022). He also provides the voice of Scott Denoga in the Disney Channel animated series Hailey's On It! (2023–present).
Jacinto was born in Manila, Philippines,[4][5] and is of Filipino-Chinese descent.[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.[4] He grew up playing baseball[3] and basketball,[9] and attended an all-boys Catholic high school, Vancouver College.[3][10]
He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia.[3][11][12]
While interning, Jacinto participated in hip-hop dance competitions[13] before deciding on acting as a career.[4][8] He became frustrated by the lack of prominent Asian actors in Vancouver's film community and moved to Los Angeles.[14]
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.[15]
In 2016, Jacinto was cast as Jason Mendoza in the NBC comedy The Good Place.[16] 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.[17][18][19][20]
In September 2018, Jacinto was cast in the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.[21]
In November 2019, it was announced that Jacinto would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.[22] It was released on August 13, 2021.[23]
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.[24]
In 2022, Jacinto voiced Lucan in the eight-episode sci-fi podcast Marigold Breach, alongside his Good Place co-star Jameela Jamil.[25]
In November 2019, Jacinto announced that he was engaged to Canadian actress Dianne Doan.[26] He lives in Los Angeles.[27]
† | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
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 | [28] |
2022 | Belle | Shinobu "Shinobu-kun" Hisatake (voice) | English dub[29] |
I Want You Back | Logan | ||
Top Gun: Maverick | Lieutenant Billy "Fritz" Avalone | ||
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind | Kenshi (voice) | [30] | |
2023 | Cora Bora | Tom | |
TBA | The Knife † | Officer Padilla | Post-production |
TBA | Balestra † | Elliot | Post-production |
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–present | Hailey's On It! | Scott Denoga | Main voice 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 | Post-production |
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 |
The 27-year-old...
I moved to Los Angeles because of the show [The Good Place] when Vancouver was my home, so that was a huge change.