Who is Manny Jacinto?
Canadian actor Manuel Luis ‘Manny’ Jacinto was born in Manila, the Philippines, on 19 August 1987, making his zodiac sign Leo; he and his family moved to Canada when he was three. He’s had roles in over 40 movies and TV series, and is probably best known for his portrayal of Jason Mendoza in the critically acclaimed fantasy comedy series “The Good Place”, which Michael Schur created, and which starred Jameela Jamil, William Jackson Harper and Kristen Bell. It follows four friends who’ve met in the afterlife, the series aired from 2016 to 2020, and won 34 of its 192 award nominations.
Education and early life
Manny was raised an only child by his parents of Chinese and Filipino descent in Richmond, British Columbia; it’s believed that his mother was a homemaker, and his father a businessman.
Manny grew up being interested mostly in playing sports, excelling in both basketball and baseball; he studied at Vancouver College, a Catholic all-boys high school. It was during his four years there that he acted for the first time, playing a supporting character in a school play when he was 16, and he then went on to appear in several plays prior to matriculating in 2005.
Manny then enrolled at the University of British Columbia, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2009; he entered a couple of hip hop competitions in the following two years, prior to moving to Los Angeles, California, in pursuit of an acting career.
Roles in movies
Manny’s debut film appearance was in the 2012 short action “Broken Sword: Shadow of the Blade”, and a couple of his following roles were in the short fantasy drama “Tele”, the romantic comedy drama “John Apple Jack”, and the short comedy drama “#Fix”, all released in 2013.
The year 2014 saw him play Eric in the biographical comedy drama “The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story”, which Jason Lapeyre created, and which starred Tiera Skovbye, Dylan Everett and Sam Kindseth. It tells the story of six actors who were cast to star in the critically acclaimed 1989 comedy series “Saved by the Bell”, and the movie won one of its three award nominations.
Manny could then have been seen playing Jamie Lang in the drama “Paper Angels”, Kevin in the drama “Only Human” both in 2014, and Desk Soldier in the 2015 action horror “Dead Rising: Watchtower”.
The year 2016 saw him portray Travis in the horror comedy “Peelers”, which Seve Schelenz directed, and which starred Madison J. Loos, Caz Odin Darko and Wren Walker. It follows a strip club owner who has to defend the club and her employees now that infected people have begun attacking them; the film won 16 of its 56 award nominations.
Manny was then cast to play Waring ‘Wade’ Espiritu in the 2018 mystery crime drama “Bad Times at the El Royale”, and to voice Shinobu in the 2021 animated adventure drama “Belle”.
One of his most recent movie roles has been his portrayal of Lieutenant Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone in the 2022 action drama “Top Gun: Maverick”, directed by Joseph Kosinski, and which starred Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller. It follows Maverick who’s still the best naval aviator after 30 years, and now has to lead his team in a top secret elite mission; the movie was nominated for nine awards.
Manny’s currently shooting for the upcoming movies “The Knife”, “Cora Bora” and “Balestra”.
Roles in TV series
Manny’s debut TV series role was in the 2013 episode “Selfless, Brave and True” of the romantic fantasy adventure “Once Upon a Time”, and the following years saw him appear in an episode of the fantasy horror drama “Supernatural”, the documentary drama “Untold stories of the ER”, and the mystery science fiction drama “The 100”.
Manny next appeared in 2015, as Wing Lei in 10 episodes of the crime drama “The Romeo Section”, created by Chris Haddock, and which starred Andrew Airlie, Juan Diedinger and Eugene Lipinski. It follows a group of spies who call themselves The Romeo Section, and the series won seven of its 21 award nominations.
Manny was then in the 2016 episode “Life Is a Carnival” of the musical comedy drama “Roadies”, and the 2017 episode “Sacrifice” of the drama “The Good Doctor”. In 2021, he portrayed Code in the popular mystery horror mini-series “Brand New Cherry Flavor”, created by Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion, and which starred Rosa Salazar, Catherine Keener and Eric Lange. It follows Lisa Nova who’s trying to succeed as a movie director in 1990 Los Angeles – the series won one of its two award nominations.
Manny’s since had roles in two TV series: the 2021 mystery thriller mini-series “Nine Perfect Strangers”, and the 2022 science fiction podcast “Marigold Breach” (voice role) – he’s currently shooting for the two upcoming series “Hailey’s On It!” and “The Acolyte”.
.@MannyJacinto's man bun in #NinePerfectStrangers. That's it. That's the tweet. 😍 https://t.co/J62buElwgC
— POPSUGAR (@POPSUGAR) August 24, 2021
Other credits
In 2021 and 2022, Manny was featured in seven episodes of the documentary podcast series “Last Known Position”.
He’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “The Drew Barrymore Show”, “Made in Hollywood” and “Hollywood First Look Features”, amongst others.
Awards and nominations
Manny’s been nominated for three awards – for a 2016 Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series, for “The Romeo Section”, then he and his colleagues for a 2018 Gold Derby TV Award for Ensemble of the Year, and a 2020 IGN Summer Movie Award for Best TV Ensemble, both for their performance in “The Good Place”.
Love life and fiancé
Manny’s quite secretive when it comes to sharing the details of his love life with his fans, but has still revealed that today he’s taken.
He announced in November 2019 that he had become engaged to popular Canadian actress Dianne Doan; she’s had roles in close to 30 movies and TV series, and is perhaps best known for her playing of Mai Ling in the action crime series “Warrior”, which has been airing since 2019. Dianne’s also known for her performance in the action adventure series “Vikings”, the romantic comedy series “Good Trouble”, and the action adventure series “Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D.”.
The two are yet to exchange vows, but they can often be seen spending time together in public.
Manny hasn’t mentioned the women whom he dated prior to meeting Dianne; he’s now engaged to Dianne Doan as of October 2022, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj54WrHtFyz/
Interesting facts and hobbies
Manny’s highly popular on Instagram, and there are over 550,000 people following him on the social media network, although he’s only posted 19 pictures and videos onto his account.
He left Vancouver, Canada because he was disappointed with the lack of Asian actors and actresses there.
Manny’s still passionate about dancing, and takes lessons nearly every day.
He enjoys being physically active, and besides working out at the gym, also likes to cycle, hike and play tennis.
Manny’s favorite actors are Richard Gere and Tom Hanks, and some of his favorite movies include “Chicago”, “The Jackal” and “Autumn in New York”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Manny’s age is 35. His eyes are brown and his hair’s black, he weighs around 180lbs (81kgs) and is 5ft 10ins (1.79m) tall.
Manny’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2 million, as of October 2022.
