THERE is no shortage of Manny Jacinto these days.
After his breakthrough performance in NBC’s Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated comedy series The Good Place, the Filipino-Canadian actor has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most exciting, versatile, and in-demand talents, in a burgeoning career marked by a series of charismatic breakthrough performances.
He recently starred in the miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers, as part of a star-studded cast, including Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, and Luke Evans. In it, he plays Yao, a bright-eyed hipster who, after a life-and-death encounter with the resort’s director, Masha (Kidman), finds himself as her devoted right-hand man.
The series, based on the popular novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, premiered domestically on Hulu on August 18, 2020, and internationally on Amazon two days later.
He also appears in the Netflix horror-thriller series Brand New Cherry Flavor, alongside Rosa Salazar, Catherine Keener, and Eric Lang from creator Nick Antosca.
Over the weekend in time for Valentine’s Day, he appeared in the romantic comedy I Want You Back via Prime Video.
The film is centered around a premise that director Jason Orley says is both relatable and timeless: “The idea of getting broken up with and wanting your ex back is something people have been dealing with forever—this is not unique to our generation.”
The movie opens as Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are both blindsided by their respective significant others, who, without warning, dump them. Most people would be forced to accept the situation and reluctantly move on. But fueled by their mutual heartbreak and desperation, Peter and Emma devise an outrageous quid pro quo to win back their respective partners, Anne (Gina Rodriguez) and Noah (Scott Eastwood). The problem is that their exes have happily moved on to new romances: Anne with Logan (Manny Jacinto) and Noah with Ginny (Clark Backo).
The new man in Anne’s life, Logan Santos, shares her interest in the arts and theatre and, in fact, is directing a revival of the musical Little Shop of Horrors…at the local middle school where they both teach.
Cast as Logan, Jacinto said, “Anne and Logan met at the school and I think we bonded very quickly because we’re both very passionate about the craft. He ends up in an interesting and very unexpected love triangle between Anne and Emma, and it becomes kind of a roller coaster between those three.”
“Manny is the perfect embodiment of what we were looking for in Logan,” said John Rickard, one of the producers. “He obviously has a great body of work in comedy, but he grounded this role in a way that I didn’t see coming.”
“Logan was one of my favorite characters from the get-go because he is so earnest and sincere that he really doesn’t realize how unbelievably funny he is being. That he is a middle school drama teacher and speaks as if he is a professor at Juilliard is absolutely fantastic,” said Peter Safran, one of the film’s producers as well.
Steady rise
Bigger things are in store for Jacinto this year.
Among them is the hugely anticipated Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, and Jon Hamm and directed by Joseph Kosinski, where he plays the role of a fighter pilot.
Not bad for an actor whose take on a bumbling not-so-smart Asian (an anti-thesis to the nerd Asian trope) opened a lot of doors. For his inspired work as Jason Mendoza, in The Good Place, Jacinto earned critical acclaim and landed him on “best of” lists from Variety, ET, Buzzfeed, Vulture, Indiewire, and Uproxx to name a few. The Hollywood Reporter highlighted him as one of the top Supporting Actors in its 2019 Emmys Class Photo.
He was also named to People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” list in 2020 and was honored at the 2018 Unforgettable Gala, alongside Sandra Oh and John Cho, for his work on the series.
Jacinto got his start as a dramatic actor and was nominated for a Leo Award for his role in the drama The Romeo Section from creator Chris Haddock. His early film and television credits also include Bad Times at the El Royale; ABC’s popular fantasy series Once Upon A Time; and memorable guest appearances on AMC’s Bates Motel and ABC’s hit medical drama The Good Doctor.
A Filipino-Canadian native of Vancouver, Jacinto is also a trained dancer and studied Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia.
In an interview with Collider, Jacinto shared that if time and money were no object, he’d love to see a good Filipino story, whether it’s TV, film, or limited series.
“I’d love to share something like that with the world, show that aspect of different cultures and communities,” Jacinto said. “Something that revolves around a good Filipino story.”
With his star and influence rising by the day, fans and followers are hopeful that this wish could turn into a reality someday.
“I Want You Back” is now available to stream on Prime Video. n
