Manuel Luis Jacinto ( or , ; born August 19, 1987) is a Canadian actor. After several small roles on television, his breakout role came as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016–2020). Jacinto had minor roles in Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and portrayed the Stranger/"Qimir" in the Star Wars series The Acolyte (2024). He also provided the voice of Scott Denoga in the Disney Channel animated series Hailey's On It! (2023–2024). In 2025, Jacinto starred in Disney's Freakier Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
In 2026, Jacinto stars alongside Liza Soberano in two animated projects from Filipino filmmakers: the film Forgotten Island, and the web series Sun Chaser.
Early life Jacinto was born in Manila, Philippines, and is of Filipino-Chinese descent. His family emigrated to Canada in 1990, when he was about three years old. He was raised in Richmond, British Columbia. He grew up playing baseball and basketball, and attended Vancouver College, an all-boys Catholic high school.
He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia.
Career While interning, Jacinto participated in hip-hop dance competitions before deciding on acting as a career. He became frustrated by the lack of prominent Asian actors in Vancouver's film community and moved to Los Angeles. After small roles in series including Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, and iZombie; he was cast in 2015 as triad leader Wing Lei in the Canadian spy drama The Romeo Section by Chris Haddock. The role won him a Leo Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Dramatic Series. In 2016, Jacinto was cast as Jason Mendoza in the NBC comedy The Good Place. He received favourable reviews for his performance as Mendoza, an EDM-obsessed "lovable doofus" from Jacksonville, Florida, going against stereotypes of how Asian men are often portrayed in Hollywood. Note: Archive requires scrooldown.
In September 2018, Jacinto was cast in the Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise. In November 2019, it was announced that Jacinto would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor. It was released on August 13, 2021. In November 2021, it was announced that Jacinto would voice Scott in the animated comedy-adventure series Hailey's On It!, which premiered in June 2023 on Disney Channel. In 2022, Jacinto voiced Lucan in the eight-episode sci-fi podcast Marigold Breach, alongside his Good Place co-star Jameela Jamil. He portrayed Qimir in 2024's The Acolyte.
In 2026, Jacinto will star in two upcoming animated projects written and directed by Filipino filmmakers: the DreamWorks Animation film Forgotten Island and the Filipino web series Sun Chaser, both of which will also star Liza Soberano.
Personal life In November 2019, Jacinto announced that he was engaged to Descendants actress Dianne Doan, whom he had met while they were both performing as dancers. They married in 2021. He currently lives in Los Angeles.
Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 Broken Sword: Shadow of the Blade Kenji Short film 2013 Tele Tommy John Apple Jack Street Kid #Fix Adam Short film 2015 Dead Rising: Watchtower Desk Soldier Even Lambs Have Teeth Vince Brittney Grabill: Goodnight Dan Short film 2016 Peelers Travis 2017 Chocolate Cake Tim Short film 2018 Bad Times at the El Royale Waring 'Wade' Espiritu 2022Belle Shinobu "Shinobu-kun" Hisatake (voice) English dub I Want You Back Logan Top Gun: Maverick Lieutenant Billy "Fritz" Avalone Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind Kenshi (voice) 2023 Cora Bora Tom 2024 The Knife Officer Padilla Balestra Elliot 2025 Freakier Friday Eric Reyes 2026 Forgotten Island Bungi (Voice) TBA TBA Post-production TBA TBA Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes 2013 Once Upon a Time Quon Episode: "Selfless, Brave and True" Supernatural Diego Episode: "Pac-Man Fever" Untold Stories of the E.R. Security Guard Episode: "Down for the Count" 2014 The 100 Boy #1 / Boy Bullied by Murphy 2 episodes Rogue Bellhop Episode: "Oh Sarah" Lighthouse Sexy Guy Dancing Television film Rush P.A. Episode: "Because I Got High" The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story Eric Television film Paper Angels Jamie Lang Only Human Kevin 2015 Bates Motel Loner Guy Episode: "Unbreak-Able" iZombie Sammy Episode: "Liv and Let Clive" Backstrom Tattooed Punk Episode: "Corkscrewed" Wayward Pines Lab Assistant Episode: "Choices" The Romeo Section Wing Lei 10 episodes 2016 Roadies Runner Episode: "Life Is a Carnival" 2016–2020 The Good Place Jason Mendoza Main role 2017 The Good Doctor Bobby Ato Episode: "Sacrifice" 2020 Magical Girl Friendship Squad Coffee Dude Voice role; 2 episodes 2021 Trese Maliksi English dub Brand New Cherry Flavor Code Main role Nine Perfect Strangers Yao Main role (season 1) 2023–2024 Hailey's On It! Scott Denoga Voice role; main role 2024–2025 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Brian Glory / Blue Streak Voice role; 3 episodes Chibiverse Scott Denoga 2024 Hailey Banks' Disney Mini Movie Marathon Voice role; television special The Acolyte Qimir / The Stranger Main role 2025 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake DJ Flame Voice role; 7 episodes Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol Renato Voice role; television special Fallout Recurring role (season 3)
Web Year Title Role Notes 2023 Theme Song Takeover Scott Denoga (voice) 3 episodes Broken Karaoke 1 episode 2024 Hailey's On It!: Road Trip Short animated series 2026 Sun Chaser Jordan Santos Animated series; lead role
Audio Year Title Role Notes 2025Hyperdrive Kai Main role
Awards and nominations Year Association Category Work Result 2016 Leo Awards Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series The Romeo Section Past Nominees & Winners 2016 at www.leoawards.com 2018 Gold Derby Awards Ensemble of the Year The Good Place 2025 Canadian Screen Awards Radius Award Himself Alex Nino Gheciu, "‘Acolyte’ star Manny Jacinto, ‘Porter’ co-creator Marsha Greene among special Screen Awards honourees". Toronto Star, March 5, 2025.
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