[This post contains spoilers for episode 5 of The Acolyte]
Manny Jacinto played one of television’s all-time great goofballs on The Good Place. But since lobbying a Molotov cocktail while yelling the last name of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, the actor has mostly been in more “serious” movies and shows, like Top Gun: Maverick and Nine Perfect Strangers. It would be nice to see Jacinto play a doofus again (maybe in Freaky Friday 2!), but at least he’s finally getting his flowers.
Jacinto’s Qimir is one of the breakout characters from Disney+’s Star Wars series The Acolyte, especially after the most recent episode (last chance if you don’t want to be spoiled).
I just started chewing on cement pic.twitter.com/ebRYdjRo5z
— falka (@mvdpire) June 26, 2024
Episode 5 revealed that Qimir is actually a Sith Lord, but more importantly, look at those arms! Even his former The Good Place co-stars are impressed. In response to an X user who wrote, “The himbo from the Good Place becoming the hottest man alive was definitely not on my bingo card,” D’Arcy Carden, who played Janet on the NBC sitcom, confirmed, “it was on mine.”
it was on mine 😌 https://t.co/05KaqYOmIn
— D'Arcy Carden (@DarcyCarden) June 28, 2024
Carden isn’t the only one.
Here’s more reactions to Jactino on The Acolyte:
manny jacinto back in the public consciousness and playing a sexy villain… star wars you ate that one little thing https://t.co/3YRSeQ3EIU
— ❦ (@D4LL4SWINSTON) June 27, 2024
manny jacinto is about to lead me places I wouldn't even go with a gun (back to star wars) https://t.co/560akOMq56
— lesbians for edelgard (@C0REZI) June 27, 2024
manny jacinto in the acolyte is crazy bruh like what the hell is this pic.twitter.com/jfrdUr6gBZ
— R (@aIicentakgae) June 27, 2024
If I had a nickel for each time Manny Jacinto plays a character that is masterfully pretending to be someone completely different than he actually is.. pic.twitter.com/zBAK0ZVdfM
— Sebastián Píriz (@SebastianPiriz) June 27, 2024
I wasn't watching The Acolyte and somehow blissfully missing all Star Wars discourse but I just saw this clip of Manny Jacinto and now I'm intrigued because I am a shallow woman https://t.co/vGYvD7rlFt
— Amanda Wong (@amandawtwong) June 27, 2024
manny jacinto as a villain is truly the best casting I have ever seen ever. the power this has on me… I am literally going to be unbearable for six months https://t.co/L5V193AWn9
— Soraya Bouazzaoui 🇵🇸 (@halalltakeaway) June 26, 2024
manny jacinto's arms are going to bring people to the acolyte the way jeremy allen white's arms brought people to the bear it's all connected we live in a beautiful world
— Leah Marilla Thomas (@leahmarilla) June 26, 2024
Jacinto’s training for his big fight scene has also gone viral. As it should! He worked on it for four months. “This was the first time I really got to dig into something with so much action and really make use of my dance background,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “We worked on everything. We did boxing, we worked on kicks, we worked on all the choreography. It was tough. They conditioned my body so that I could get through this five-person fight scene.”
To paraphrase a Good Place meme: Manny Jacinto on The Acolyte? Don’t mind if I do.
The Acolyte streams on Disney+ with new episodes on Tuesdays.