“Top Gun: Maverick” Discriminate Against Asian Actors? Edited out All Scenes with No Warning

According to Variety and other foreign media on July 17 (local time), Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto shared behind-the-scenes details of the movie “Top Gun: Maverick”.

Manny Jacinto also appeared in the Disney+ series “The Acolyte”, starring Lee Jung-jae, which gained significant attention domestically.

Before appearing in “The Acolyte”, part of the “Star Wars” series, he was cast in “Top Gun: Maverick” and participated in filming. However, all his lines were cut, and he only appeared briefly in a few background scenes.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Jacinto recalled, “I wasn’t shocked. I had a feeling on the set. The camera focused more on others, and not much time was spent on my scenes.”

However, he did not know his role would be so drastically reduced until just before the release. Jacinto expressed his determination, saying, “It’s up to us Asian Americans and people of color. If we want bigger stories, we have to create them ourselves.”

He added, “It was still a good experience for me. I got to see how Tom Cruise works on such a huge project and be a small part of a massive franchise.”

Jacinto reportedly underwent months of flight training with real military pilots in preparation for his role in “Top Gun: Maverick”, only to be edited out.

Source: Nate