Manny Jacinto seemingly threw shade Tom Cruise’s way after revealing all of his lines were cut from 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.

The hunky actor, 36, was cast as LT Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone in the blockbuster Top Gun sequel that also starred Glen Powell and Miles Teller.

While the film helped Powell and Tiller achieve A-list status, it did little to boost Jacinto’s profile as he was reduced to a background actor in post-production.

He didn’t discover just how little he appeared in the film until it hit theaters in May 2022.

But Jacinto told GQ this week that he wasn’t at all ‘shocked’ by the move as ‘Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise.’

‘It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry [about me being cut], but it wasn’t shocking to me,’ he said.

‘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.’

Despite going through months of flight training for the role, Jacinto only appears in the background of a few scenes and his lines were completely scrapped. 

But he isn’t bitter about the experience and, instead, has used it as ‘fuel.’

‘It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise,’ he said. 

‘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.’ 

Jacinto expressed gratitude for being a part of the Top Gun franchise.

‘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 explained.

Top Gun: Maverick raked in nearly $1.5billion at the worldwide box office on a $170million budget. 

Taking place more than three decades after the classic 1986 film, Top Gun: Maverick sees the return of Cruise as fighter pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.

‘After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN’s elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it,’ the official IMDb synopsis reads.

It was shot across California, Washington and Maryland between 2018 and 2019.

The film’s intended 2019 release was delayed after COVID-19 lockdown thwarted plans for reshoots.

Top Gun: Maverick — which sees the return of Val Kilmer with the addition of Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm — officially premiered on May 27, 2022.

It earned five Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe nominee for Outstanding Drama Motion Picture.

Though the Top Gun sequel wasn’t the career catalyst he’d hoped for, Jacinto has found incredible success with another beloved franchise.

He currently stars as a Qimir, a seductive Sith Lord, in the acclaimed Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte on Disney+.

Also starring Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss and Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae, the action-drama series debuted its first season on June 4. 

‘An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-Jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Stenberg),’ the official synopsis reads.

‘As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.’

It takes place roughly 100 years before the events of the first Star Wars prequel film, 1999’s The Phantom Menace.

The show gives fans a glimpse into the end of what has become known as the High Republic Era in Star Wars lore. 

It is created by longtime Star Wars fan Lesyle Headland, best known for creating the Netflix series Russian Doll.

During a recent sit-down with The New York Times, Jacinto spoke about playing an ‘outsider’ on The Acolyte and how he relates as a minority in Hollywood.

‘It’s always come down to this feeling of being an outsider, being in a place that doesn’t accept you. I think that’s the reason it really resonated with Leslye and me,’ he explained. 

‘Leslye being a female, gay showrunner in this industry and me being an Asian American male in this industry, we’ve constantly had to fight for our position and we’ve constantly had to prove ourselves.

‘So, I think it really is just a parallel to that type of feeling of wanting to be accepted and wanting to be able to really express oneself.’

Season one of The Acolyte wrapped on July 16 after eight episodes.

Disney has yet to announce if it will be renewed for a second season.

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Source: USA Today