Manny Jacinto Says His Younger Self 'Wouldn't Believe' Where His Career Is Today: 'You Should Be in an Office' (Exclusive) Toria Sheffield, Julia MooreNovember 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM 0 Taylor Hill/WireImage Manny Jacinto at the Time100 Next Gala on Oct. 30, 2025 Manny Jacinto admitted that his past self "wouldn't believe" that he made it as a successful actor in Hollywood The Freakier Friday actor also reflected on how his role in The Good Place completely changed his life The 38yearold actor caught up with PEOPLE exclusively while attending the TIME100 Next Gala on Oct.
- - Manny Jacinto Says His Younger Self 'Wouldn't Believe' Where His Career Is Today: 'You Should Be in an Office' (Exclusive)
Toria Sheffield, Julia MooreNovember 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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Taylor Hill/WireImage
Manny Jacinto at the Time100 Next Gala on Oct. 30, 2025 -
Manny Jacinto admitted that his past self "wouldn't believe" that he made it as a successful actor in Hollywood
The Freakier Friday actor also reflected on how his role in The Good Place completely changed his life
The 38-year-old actor caught up with PEOPLE exclusively while attending the TIME100 Next Gala on Oct. 30
Manny Jacinto still can't quite believe how far he's come.
The Freakier Friday and Star Wars: The Acolyte star, 38, caught up with PEOPLE exclusively during the TIME100 Next Gala at Chelsea Piers in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 30. During the conversation, Jacinto shared that his younger self would never believe how his life has turned out.
"If I told him that I was here [at the TIME100 event], he'd be like, 'What are you talking about, man? You should be in an office in front of a computer being an engineer or something,' " the Nine Perfect Strangers actor says.
"But no, he wouldn't believe me for sure. It's wild that I get to be here, so I'm taking in every single moment," Jacinto adds.
TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic
Manny Jacinto at the Time100 Next Gala on Oct. 30, 2025
Jacinto also reflected on another major milestone in his life: the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the premiere of The Good Place, in which he played fan-favorite character Jason Mendoza in all four seasons of the show.
"Thank goodness for that show because I was able to buy groceries," he says, adding, "I just remember living in a five-bedroom house with a bunch of nurses and just trying to make it work. [...] When that audition came through and when I was able to get that [part], [it] changed my life, It really did."
"[There were] so many special moments," he recalls.
Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Jameela Jamil and Manny Jacinto in 'The Good Place' (2016)
"Getting to work with Ted [Danson] for the first time, meeting Kristen [Bell] and all the babies in the crew, whether it be Jameela [Jamil] or D'Arcy [Carden] and Will [Jackson Harper]. And just being on the lot in Universal and seeing the trams go by — so many special moments," he continues.
Jacinto previously opened up about another major career milestone: appearing in the 2022 Tom Cruise-led blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick.
The actor played LT Billy "Fritz" Avalone, though he only appeared in the background of a few scenes — something which caused some waves among his fans.
"It's flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry," Jacinto said in a July 2024 interview with GQ, adding, "But it wasn't shocking to me."
"There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I [could] see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes," he explained.
"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 continued.
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The Acolyte star noted that the experience ultimately pushed him as a working actor and artist, inspiring him to want to create more roles for himself and other Asian-American actors.
"It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. 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," he said.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: November 03, 2025 at 10:36AM on Source: MONDAY MAG
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