Manny Jacinto

Manny Jacinto is a Canadian actor. He is widely recognized for his breakout role as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016–2020). Since then, Jacinto has expanded his career into major film roles, including an appearance in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and joined the Star Wars universe as the Stranger/Qimir in the Disney+ series The Acolyte (2024). Known for his approachable persona and versatility, he continues to establish himself as a notable talent. He voiced Scott Denoga in the Disney Channel series Hailey's On It! (2023–2024) and is set to star in the comedy sequel Freakier Friday (2025). He is also attached to two animated projects with Filipino filmmakers, Forgotten Island and Sun Chaser.[edit]

Manuel Luis Jacinto was born on August 19, 1987, in Manila, Philippines. When he was three years old, his family immigrated to Canada, establishing their home in Richmond, British Columbia. Growing up, Jacinto attended William Bridge Elementary School and later Hugh McRoberts Secondary School. During his high school years, he was an active athlete, playing point guard for the school's basketball team.

Initially, Jacinto enrolled at the University of British Columbia to pursue civil engineering, a path chosen to align with his parents' aspirations for him to have a stable career. However, during his second year, he took an elective acting class that ignited a passion for performing. This pivotal experience led him to change his academic focus, switching his major to theatre. He ultimately graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2010 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

After completing his university studies, Jacinto began to build his performance career. He worked as a dancer in various music videos and honed his craft by appearing in local Vancouver theatre productions. Concurrently, he actively pursued auditions for television roles, steadily working towards his breakthrough. His first credited television appearance was a minor part in the fantasy series Once Upon a Time in 2012. This was followed by guest spots on other notable shows, including The Flash in 2014 and iZombie in 2015, as he gained experience and visibility in the industry.[edit]

Jacinto's big break came in 2016 when he was cast as Jason Mendoza on The Good Place. The show's creator, Mike Schur, originally auditioned him for the silent monk Jianyu, but after seeing his comedic timing, rewrote the character into the lovable Florida DJ Jason. The series ran for four critically acclaimed seasons from 2016 to 2020 and made Jacinto a household name. In 2018, he appeared in the ensemble thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. His role in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) was small but placed him in one of the year's biggest blockbusters. In 2024, he took on his most high-profile role yet as the Stranger/Qimir in Star Wars: The Acolyte, a performance that drew praise from fans and critics. He landed the role after a year-long audition process that included multiple chemistry reads. In 2025, he co-starred in Freakier Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. As of 2026, he is attached to two animated projects with Filipino filmmakers: the film Forgotten Island and the web series Sun Chaser, both co-starring Liza Soberano.[edit]

Jacinto is widely regarded as a charismatic, humble, and versatile actor who transitions seamlessly between comedy and dramatic action. Media profiles highlight his down-to-earth personality and gratitude toward fans. His style is casual and approachable, often favoring streetwear at events. Fans of The Good Place affectionately call him "Jason Mendoza" and celebrate his character's most absurd moments through memes and fan edits. The Star Wars fandom has embraced his portrayal of Qimir, generating fan art and theories about the character's backstory. On social media, Jacinto's voice is warm, humorous, and appreciative, regularly thanking fans for their support. He has approximately 1.2 million Instagram followers and 300,000 X followers as of 2026.[edit]

On the red carpet of Los Angeles, Manny Jacinto moves with the easy confidence of a man who has already conquered two distinct universes. His trajectory from a dancer in Vancouver to a global star is marked by specific, high-impact placements that define his current standing. He is the 16th most famous person from Philippines, a position he holds steady against a crowded field of talent. Within the galactic sandbox of sci-fi franchises, his influence is even more concentrated; he ranks as the 10th most famous person in Star Wars. These figures are not arbitrary but reflect a massive accumulation of cultural attention across media coverage, search activity, and consumption signals worldwide. The iFANN Global Fame Rankings track this intensity, placing him firmly among the industry's elite without needing to dissect the algorithm behind the numbers.

Fans do not organize under a single banner name like "The Qimir Collective" or "Jason's Army." Instead, the community remains an organic, decentralized network centered on his iconic roles. During the run of The Good Place, viewers championed the absurdity of Jason Mendoza through memes and edits that turned the character into a cultural touchstone for morality and redemption. Today, that energy has shifted toward The Acolyte, where speculation about his character Qimir fuels intense online discourse. While there are no documented subway ads funded solely by fans or crowds fainting at airport arrivals, the dedication is visible in convention halls. Attendees travel specifically to events like Rebel Scum Con III to meet him, creating a tangible bridge between the actor and his audience. This connection is further strengthened by his recent inclusion on the TIME100 Next list, a moment that validated his transition from sitcom favorite to serious genre lead.[edit]

Manny Jacinto navigates Hollywood with a unique linguistic duality: while his surname is pronounced "ha-SIN-toh" in Filipino, he adopts the anglicized "jə-SIN-toh" for American audiences. Before finding fame on screen, he was a competitive basketball player in high school and worked professionally as a dancer, appearing in various music videos. Standing at 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm), he balances fluency in English with conversational Tagalog. His career took a pivotal turn during an audition for The Good Place; producers originally cast him as Jianyu but rewrote the character entirely into Jason Mendoza after witnessing his performance. Despite a successful run spanning four seasons and 50 episodes, he has not yet won a major individual industry award, though he received ensemble nominations with the cast.

A defining legend surrounding Jacinto involves his breakout role as Jason Mendoza, which transformed a minor character into a comedic icon. Fans still retell stories of how his physical comedy and innocent delivery made the show resonate deeply, turning a simple sitcom premise into a global phenomenon. Another widely discussed narrative is his journey from an aspiring civil engineer to a leading actor, a story he shared in a speech at SLU in April 2026 that resonated with students facing similar uncertainties. Recently, rumors have circulated regarding his conditions for returning to the Star Wars universe, specifically under showrunner Dave Filoni, adding a layer of lore to his character Qimir that keeps fans speculating about future arcs.[edit]

Jacinto was born in Manila, Philippines, to parents who moved the family to Canada when he was three. He grew up in a Filipino-Canadian household in Richmond, British Columbia. He has not publicly shared the names or occupations of his parents or whether he has siblings. He married Dianne Duran, a Canadian nurse and former competitive dancer, in a private ceremony in British Columbia in 2019. The couple has no children as of 2026. They own a home in Vancouver and keep their personal life relatively private, though Duran occasionally appears on Jacinto's social media.[edit]

Jacinto is closely associated with The Good Place creator Mike Schur and his co-stars Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, D'Arcy Carden, Jameela Jamil, and Ted Danson. He also works frequently with Filipino filmmakers and is set to co-star with Liza Soberano in upcoming animated projects.[edit]

Jacinto has been in a relationship with Dianne Duran, a Canadian nurse and former competitive dancer, since before his rise to fame. They met through mutual friends in Vancouver and married in a private ceremony in British Columbia in 2019. The couple keeps their relationship relatively private, with Duran occasionally appearing on Jacinto's social media. As of 2026, they remain married with no reported children.[edit]

As things stand in 2026, iFANN currently estimates Manny Jacinto's net worth at $3 Million. This figure reflects a steady accumulation of wealth since his breakout in 2016, driven primarily by his work in television and film. During his time on The Good Place, he earned an estimated $30,000 to $50,000 per episode across the series' 50-episode run. Subsequent roles in major productions like Top Gun: Maverick and Bad Times at the El Royale significantly boosted his earnings, while his involvement in the Disney+ production The Acolyte brought a substantial salary increase. Additional income streams include voice work on Hailey's On It! and upcoming animated projects with Filipino filmmakers. Although public endorsement deals remain limited, he owns a home in Vancouver, British Columbia. The expansion of his portfolio into high-profile genre television, particularly within the Star Wars franchise, has provided a notable financial lift to his overall valuation.[edit]

As of 2026, Jacinto has not won any major individual acting awards. He was part of the ensemble cast of The Good Place, which received multiple nominations for Best Comedy Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but the show did not win in those categories.[edit]