Manny Jacinto seemingly threw shade at Tom Cruise after revealing that all of his lines were cut from 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.
The handsome 36-year-old actor was cast to play Lt. Billy “Fritz” Avalone in the hit Top Gun sequel, which also starred Glen Powell and Miles Teller.
While the film helped Powell and Tiller achieve A-list actor status, it did little to boost the profile of Jacinto, who was reduced to a supporting actor in post-production.
She didn’t discover how little she appeared in the film until it hit theaters in May 2022.
But Jacinto told him GQ This week, he said he was not at all “surprised” by the decision, since “Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise.”
Manny Jacinto seemingly threw shade at Tom Cruise after revealing that all of his lines were cut from 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick; seen in May
The hunky 36-year-old has been cast as Lt. Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone in the blockbuster Top Gun sequel, which also starred Glen Powell and Miles Teller.
“It’s flattering that there was a bit of a scandal (over my dismissal), but I wasn’t surprised,” he said.
‘There was a sense of where the movie was going (on set), like I could see them focusing the camera more on these (other) guys and not taking as much time on our scenes.’
Despite having undergone months of flight training for the role, Jacinto only appears in the background in a few scenes and his lines were completely scrapped.
But he is not bitter about the experience and has instead used it as “fuel.”
“It kind of motivates you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,” he said.
“It’s up to us — Asian Americans, people of color — to be that[for ourselves]. We can’t wait for someone else to do it. If we want there to be bigger stories, we have to create them for ourselves.”
Jacinto expressed his gratitude for being part of the Top Gun franchise.
“Luckily, it was a great experience: you get to see this huge machine in operation, see Tom Cruise working and be a small part of this huge franchise,” he explained.
Top Gun: Maverick grossed nearly $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office on a $170 million budget.
Top Gun: Maverick, which is set more than three decades after the classic 1986 film, marks the return of Cruise as fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
‘After thirty years, Maverick continues to push the boundaries as a top-notch naval aviator, but he must confront the ghosts of his past when he leads the elite graduates of TOP GUN on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it,’ the officer said. IMDb The synopsis says:
It was filmed in California, Washington and Maryland between 2018 and 2019.
While the film helped Powell and Tiller achieve A-list star status, it did little to boost the profile of Jacinto, who was reduced to a supporting player in post-production.
But Jacinto told GQ this week that he was not at all “surprised” by the decision since “Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise.”
The film’s planned 2019 release was delayed after the COVID-19 lockdown thwarted plans to reshoot.
Top Gun: Maverick, which sees the return of Val Kilmer with the addition of Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm, officially premiered on May 27, 2022.
It received five Academy Award nominations and one Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Film.
Although the Top Gun sequel wasn’t the career catalyst he hoped for, Jacinto has found incredible success with another beloved franchise.
He currently stars as Qimir, a seductive Sith Lord, in the critically acclaimed Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte on Disney+.
Also starring Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae, the action-drama series premiered its first season on June 4.
‘An investigation into a shocking crime wave pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-Jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Stenberg),’ reads the official synopsis.
‘As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal that not everything is as it seems.’
It takes place approximately 100 years before the events of the first Star Wars prequel film, 1999’s The Phantom Menace.
The show gives fans a glimpse into the end of what is known as the High Republic Era in Star Wars lore.
“It’s flattering that there was a bit of an outcry (over my firing), but I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “There was a sense of where the movie was going (on set), like I could see them focusing the camera more on these (other) guys and not spending as much time on our scenes”; seen in May
Jacinto currently stars as Qimir, a seductive Sith Lord, in the critically acclaimed Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte on Disney+.
During a recent interview with The New York Times, Jacinto talked about playing an “outsider” in The Acolyte and how he relates as a minority in Hollywood.
It was created by long-time Star Wars fan Lesyle Headland, best known for creating the Netflix series Russian Doll.
During a recent meeting with The New York TimesJacinto talked about playing an “outsider” in The Acolyte and how he relates as a minority in Hollywood.
“It’s always about the feeling of being an outsider, of being in a place that doesn’t accept you. I think that’s why both Leslye and I relate to this,” she explained.
‘Leslye being a female, gay showrunner in this industry and me being an Asian-American man in this industry, we’ve constantly had to fight for our position and we’ve constantly had to prove our worth.
“So I think it’s really just a parallel to that kind of feeling of wanting to be accepted and wanting to be able to really express yourself.”
The first season of The Acolyte concluded on July 16 after eight episodes.
Disney has yet to announce whether it will renew for a second season.
