Manny Jacinto wasn’t surprised Top Gun cut all his lines

Manny Jacinto recently reflected on his involvement in Top Gun: Maverick and the disappointment of having most of his scenes cut from the film. Known for his roles in TV shows like The Good Place and Nine Perfect Strangers, Jacinto has since gained further popularity with his portrayal of Qimir in Disney+’s Star Wars series, The Acolyte.

In Top Gun: Maverick, Jacinto was cast as Lt. Billy “Fritz” Avalone, but found that many of his speaking scenes were removed from the final cut. This decision sparked confusion and disappointment among his fans. Despite the success the movie brought to other actors like Glen Powell and Miles Teller, Jacinto remained pragmatic about his reduced screen time.

“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me,” Jacinto told GQ magazine. “There was this sense of where the film was going, like I can see them focusing the camera more on these guys and not taking so much time on our scenes.”

Despite the setback, Jacinto found his experience on Maverick to be educational. “Fortunately, it still was a great experience. You get to see this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise,” he explained.

Jacinto emphasized the importance of taking charge of one’s own narrative, particularly for Asian Americans and people of color. “It kind of fuels you because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. It’s up to us, Asian Americans, people of color, to be that. We cannot wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves.”

Recently, it was announced that Jacinto had been cast in the upcoming sequel Freaky Friday 2. The sequel is expected to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reprising their iconic roles from the original film.

The critical response to Top Gun: Maverick was overwhelmingly positive. The Independent‘s Clarisse Loughrey awarded the film four stars, describing it as “the kind of edge-of-your-seat, fist-pumping spectacular that can unite an entire room full of strangers sitting in the dark and leave them with a wistful tear in their eye.”

The Acolyte is currently streaming on Disney+. The Independent has reached out to the Top Gun team for further comment on Jacinto’s cut scenes.

Source: GQ, The Independent