Manny Jacinto Embraces Leading Man Status With ‘Freakier Friday’ And ‘The Acolyte’

July 30, 2025: Manny Jacinto is undeniably in his leading man era, a transformation highlighted by his current press tour for Freakier Friday, the highly anticipated Freaky Friday sequel hitting theaters on August 8. In this follow-up to the beloved 2003 film, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their roles as the body-swapping mother-daughter duo Anna and Tess Coleman. Two decades later, they find themselves in a familiar predicament, but with Anna’s daughter and stepdaughter-to-be now also caught in the magical mix.

Jacinto plays Eric Davies, Anna’s unsuspecting fiancé, who is completely unaware that his beloved has swapped bodies with his future stepdaughter, and that his own daughter has traded places with his soon-to-be mother-in-law.

The 37-year-old actor fully grasps the magnitude of this opportunity. “It’s wild that I get to do this. I never would have thought I’d play the love interest to Lindsay Lohan; I watched Lindsay Lohan as a kid,” he told InStyle in an interview published Tuesday morning. “It’s wild what you can do if you put your mind to it.”

Beyond starring opposite Lohan, Jacinto was primarily drawn to the role due to its significant implications for the Asian American community. It remains a rare sight to see an Asian American man in such a prominent, mainstream romantic role, a fact Jacinto is keenly aware of.

“I mean, you don’t get to see a lot of Asian American males as a love interest, or as a solid father figure, and that was definitely the part that enticed me about it,” Jacinto shared with Deadline last week.

With Freakier Friday, Jacinto fully embraces his leading man potential. For long-time fans who have followed his career since his breakthrough on The Good Place, his ascent to fame—and newly minted heartthrob status—is a significant source of pride.

Veronica Fitzpatrick, a Filipino American adjunct assistant professor of modern culture and media at Brown University, noted the importance of this representation. “Without giving the algebra of representation too much credit, there’s something pleasurable about seeing an Asian man romancing anyone and getting a break from the more familiar interracial combo of white man/AAPI woman,” she told Yahoo. “That we’re seeing it in a mainstream film like Freakier Friday … helps further normalize the very normal, very not-novel idea that AAPI men have sex appeal and romantic currency.”

Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Filipino-Canadian actor first gained widespread recognition for his charming portrayal of the often aloof but well-intentioned Floridian Jason Mendoza on NBC’s The Good Place. Following that success, Jacinto landed a starring role alongside Nicole Kidman in the series Nine Perfect Strangers before appearing in her ex-husband Tom Cruise’s blockbuster hit Top Gun: Maverick a year later—despite his lines famously being cut from the final film.

Jacinto’s rise to the top has been a steady, deliberate climb. However, his portrayal of the brooding Sith Lord, The Stranger, on Disney+’s The Acolyte particularly triggered a significant shift in how Hollywood perceives him: as an Asian male undeniably worthy of a lead role. Jacinto has even received the coveted “TikTok treatment,” becoming the subject of numerous shirtless, “lustful edits” on the app, which had loyal Acolyte fans re-evaluating their allegiances to other characters.

Leslye Headland, The Acolyte’s creator and showrunner, previously told GQ that “The Stranger flips classic gender tropes of hypersexualization.” She added, “But a true sex symbol is someone who resonates emotionally with fans. Manny’s magnetism is rooted in his acting, not just his physique. His ability to access vulnerability, empathy and longing is very compelling.”

It appears that women, both in his fanbase and behind the scenes, have played a crucial part in Jacinto’s continued success and rise to stardom. While his female fans are plentiful, Jacinto is especially moved by the championing efforts of women within the industry. He told InStyle that without them, his career would not have progressed in the direction it has.

“Women have been a huge champion for me. It’s always been women who have been able to look past what I have done and see the potential of what I can do,” he said, specifically naming Nicole Kidman, Leslye Headland, and Freakier Friday’s director Nisha Ganatra. “Thank God I get to do this during this day and age when there are so many women at the top … who see my potential and are not afraid to explore that.”