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Manny Jacinto reportedly collaborating with Pinoy writers, producers for new projects

by Joanna Deala

FILIPINOS may soon see Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto topbilling a project alongside other Filipino talents.

This may not be the first time he did a project based on the work of Filipino artists, but his fans in the country might see more of this in the future as Jacinto is currently developing new projects “with a handful of Filipino writers and producers,” according to a GQ article.

To recall, Jacinto lent his voice to Maliksi in the animated adaptation of “Trese,” based on the comic series of the same name created by Filipino writer Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo.

The report did not elaborate on what project the 36-year-old actor is working on, but Jacinto revealed during the exclusive interview that he still has dream roles he wants to play, despite the long list of characters he portrayed in films and television shows since 2012.

“I would love to do an incredible A24 or Neon indie. I’d love to be part of a new franchise, whether it’s a comic or a manga or an anime,” Jacinto was quoted as saying, mentioning popular Japanese manga series “Naruto” and “One-Punch Man.”

“There’s still so much I need to do,” he added.

Jacinto, born in the Philippines and raised in Canada, gained prominence for his role as Jason Mendoza in the American fantasy-comedy series “The Good Place,” which premiered in 2016 and ended in 2020. His career continued to prosper, appearing in back-to-back projects for small and big screens that eventually led him to snatch the mysterious yet viewers’ favored character, Qimir, in “The Acolyte.”

He also appeared in the 2022 action film “Top Gun: Maverick,” topbilled by Tom Cruise, which fueled him to develop his own projects.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ experience

The Filipino-Canadian actor gave life to Lieutenant Billy “Fritz” Avalone in the action movie. But Jacinto, who underwent intense flight training for the film, had little screen time and all his dialogues were cut from the movie.

The actor shared that he only learned about this when “Top Gun: Maverick” was released. 

While this surprised and disappointed some viewers, Jacinto said it “wasn’t shocking” to him. The actor looked on the bright side, stressing that working with Cruise and being part of the movie was still “a great experience” for him.

“It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,” Jacinto emphasized. “It’s up to us—Asian Americans, people of color—to be that [for ourselves]. We can’t wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves.”

Netizens weigh in

When the news about Jacinto collaborating with Filipino talents was shared on social media, several netizens were thrilled about what “The Acolyte” star has in store for his fans.

One netizen suggested that they wanted him to be in a romance-comedy project written and directed by Dwein Baltazar, who is known for her movies “Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus,” “Exes Baggage,” “Oda Sa Wala,” and “Third World Romance.”

More netizens agreed that Jacinto should do a romance film.

While many netizens were happy about the news, some pointed out how “unfair” and “infuriating” it is that several “people of color” were given little to no representation in the international entertainment scene, prompting them to create opportunities for themselves.

Jacinto believes that he still has to “work” and “continue to fight for roles” to succeed in the entertainment scene.

“The people I look up to—if you look at Steven Yeun, or Kumail Nanjiani, or even Donald Glover—they all had to, in some shape or form, create [projects for themselves] in order to continue to have a platform. Or even look at Dev Patel! He’s a huge star, but he had to make ‘Monkey Man himself [to get an action role like that], and that was even shelved at one point,” he shared.

He continued, “So that’s why I have this caution towards whether or not the industry will move things forward for my career. If anything, it fuels me to try and create things on my own terms and hopefully lead projects that way.”

The first season of “The Acolyte” has dropped its eighth and final episode on July 16. Will the series have a subsequent season? That’s something that viewers will find out soon.

What they can look forward to now is Jacinto’s portrayal in the forthcoming movie “Freaky Friday 2,” alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

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