‘Top Gun’ Actor: ‘Tom Cruise Writes Stories for Himself’

At 36 years old, Manny Jacinto has experienced a career that many actors can only dream of. A few years after earning a degree in civil engineering, he found himself starring in acclaimed series like The Good Place and popular comedies like I Want You Back. He’s also reportedly secured a role in the eagerly awaited Freaky Friday sequel. However, Jacinto’s most commercially successful project didn’t allow him to deliver any lines—a detail that has stuck with him since.

In 2022, Jacinto appeared as Lieutenant Billy “Fritz” Avalone in Top Gun: Maverick. The film grossed nearly $2 billion globally and even earned an Academy Award. But for Jacinto, the opportunity to speak as part of the main cast was absent. Various reports suggest his lines were cut from the final version of the film. Despite this, he describes the experience as “great.”

“There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes. 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,” Jacinto shared with GQ.

Rather than feeling discouraged or doubting his abilities as an actor, Jacinto says the experience motivated him to create future opportunities for himself and other actors of color.

“At the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,” Jacinto continued. “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.”

Source: GQ