Manny Jacinto, Qimir in “The Acolyte” said that in his childhood he liked Star Wars “from afar” because not feeling represented by the characters . The Filipino-Canadian actor celebrates the fact that he has opened up possibilities for people of color can relate more to the franchise’s story .
In an interview with GQ magazine, he celebrated: “I’ve waited a long time to play a villain like this, who is very discreet, but also very powerful.” Previously, Jacinto was known for giving life to characters such as Jason Mendoza in the series “The Good Place” and Yao in “Nine Strangers”.
The story surrounding his character in “The Acolyte” was a source of outrage for some Star Wars fans, as they wanted the plot to follow the original events of the franchise. Regarding this, the actor commented that “there is always a very passionate group that doesn’t like change, that wants the same feeling they experienced when they were children […] so they are more precious about the things they experienced when they were younger.”
Qimir’s participation in the production was not supposed to be so prominent, revealed the creator of the series Leslye Headland to the website Inverse. According to her, “Manny was impressive in every aspect”, which made her change her mind about the importance of the character played by Jacinto in the work.
“It wasn’t shocking to me”
Cast in the film “Top Gun: Maverick”, Manny Jacinto had most of his lines and scenes cut from the production, which caused outrage on social media at the time of its release. For him, the participation was still valid: “you get to see this huge machine working, see how Tom Cruise works and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise”, he told GQ.
Regarding the cutting of his lines, Jacinto commented in the interview that: “It’s flattering that there was a bit of protest, but it wasn’t shocking to me.”
In preparation for the role, the actor underwent months of training in real fighter jets and physical training twice a day for the action scenes in the film. According to him, the process helped him see a new type of representation in the participants in the production — as he met people from the Navy and Air Force who also came from the Philippines.
Upcoming fights
The actor is currently filming “Freaky Friday 2,” a movie starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis that is scheduled to hit theaters in 2025. In addition, there is the possibility of producing a second season of “The Acolyte,” as the story left unanswered questions.
Manny Jacinto commented in the interview with GQ that he does not yet see himself as an artist who is in the position of choosing which roles he will play because he sees other people of color having to fight for their work.
“The people I admire — if you look at Steven Yeun, or Kumail Nanjiani, or even Donald Glover — they all had to, in some way, create [projetos para si mesmos] to continue to have a platform. Or even look at Dev Patel! He’s a big star, but he had to do Monkey Man,” he said. He added: “If we want bigger stories out there, we have to do them for ourselves.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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