Star Wars: The Acolyte star Manny Jacinto has opened up about having his dialogue cut from Top Gun: Maverick.
The actor was cast as LT Billy “Fritz” Avalone in the Tom Cruise-led sequel, but his lines were cut from the final edit and he only appeared in the background of a few short scenes.
“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me,” Jacinto told GQ magazine about being cut out of the film. “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.”
Top Gun: Maverick helped to propel the careers of Glen Powell and Miles Teller, but did little to boost Jacinto’s status. The actor stressed, however, that he’s not hung up about it.
“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 said.
The actor also revealed that he didn’t know his role was being cut down until the sequel opened in cinemas.
“It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,” Jacinto added about the experience. “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.”
Speaking to a Philippines news outlet in 2022 (via GQ), Jacinto remembered being cast in the Top Gun sequel back in 2018.
He said of his training: “You kind of feel like a superhero a little bit. And it’s an incredible feeling because even throughout shooting, we were able to meet a good amount of people in the Navy, people in the Air Force, and a good amount of them are Filipino. And to be able to represent that for them and have their face kind of represented, meant a lot.”
Jacinto is best known for his roles in The Good Place and Nine Perfect Strangers, but he recently enjoyed his breakthrough moment in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte, starring as Qimir, a seductive Sith Lord.
The Acolyte recently aired the finale of season one, which is now available in its entirety on the streaming platform. A second season is yet to be confirmed.