Manny Jacinto has revealed that he wasn’t surprised that his dialogue from Top Gun: Maverick was eventually cut.
The star played Lt. Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone in the 2022 action film, which followed Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) as he returned to the Top Gun academy to teach a group of new recruits for a dangerous mission.
Though Jacinto filmed several scenes, his role in the final cut of the film was reduced to mere seconds as all of his lines were removed, but the actor revealed to GQ that he wasn’t necessarily surprised, despite the backlash over the decision.
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“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me,” he began. “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.
“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. It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise.
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“It’s up to us – Asian Americans, people of colour – 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.”
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Though Jacinto’s role was small, Top Gun: Maverick proved to be a critical and commercial success as it secured six nominations at the Academy Awards as well as a massive $1.496 billion at the global box office.
The success of the film led to a sequel being greenlit, with Cruise, Miles Teller and Glen Powell all set to return as the latter teased: “I don't know when I'll be going back… [but] I'm sure there is a jet waiting for me sometime in the future.”
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
