Biography - Manuel Jacinto

Who is Manuel Jacinto?

Manuel Jacinto is an actor by profession and Canadian by nationality. He is best known for starring as Jason Mendoza on The Good Place, as Waring 'Wade' Espiritu in Bad Times at the El Royale, and as Fritz in Top Gun: Maverick.

Manuel Jacinto – Birth, Parents, Siblings

Manuel Jacinto was born on August 19, 1987, in Manila, Philippines. His full name is Manuel Luis Jacinto. He was three years old when his parents moved the family to Canada in 1990. His mother and father raised him in Richmond, British Columbia, where he grew up playing basketball and baseball.

There is no information on his siblings, if he has any.

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Manuel Jacinto attended the all-boys Catholic high school, Vancouver College. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia. 

His ethnicity includes Chinese and Filipino.

Manuel Jacinto – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Jacinto is currently in a relationship with his Canadian girlfriend, actress Dianne Doan. In fact, they are engaged to be married, having announced their engagement in November 2019. They married in 2021. He is yet to welcome any children with his wife.

There has been no news of divorce surrounding the couple.

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Manuel Jacinto – Career

Early Days

Following graduation, Jacinto began his internship while participating in hip-hop dance competitions. He eventually decided to pursue a career in acting in 2012. However, his career took off as there was a lack of other Asian actors in Vancouver. Thus, the now frustrated Manuel Jacinto moved to Los Angeles.

His early roles were minor appearances in the episode(s) of the TV series Once Upon a Time (2013), Supernatural (2013), The 100 (2014), iZombie (2015), and The Romeo Section (2015), among others. Finally, Jacinto landed the role of Jianyu Li / Jason Mendoza in the fantasy comedy TV series The Good Place. He portrayed the character from 2016 to 2020, for a total of 50 episodes, and this is his breakthrough role.

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Films, TV Series

Over the years, Manuel Jacinto has starred in the films Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015), Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), The Knife (2024), Balestra (2024), Freakier Friday (2025), and TV films Lighthouse (2014), The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story (2014), etc.

Moreover, he has been cast as the main character in the Netflix series Brand New Cherry Flavor.

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Co-stars

On the set of Top Gun: Maverick, Manuel Jacinto has worked with Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, and Thomasin McKenzie.

Manuel Jacinto – Awards, Nominations

For his work, Manuel Jacinto has been nominated for the Leo Awards - Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series (2016) and Gold Derby Awards - Ensemble of the Year (2018).

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Manuel Jacinto – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth and annual salary of Jacinto are under review and will be updated.

Manuel Jacinto – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media sites, including Instagram and Twitter, Jacinto is followed by thousands of followers but is absent from Facebook.

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