Star Wars: The Acolyte may have already been canceled, but it won’t be the end of Manny Jacinto’s career. While the Canadian actor is already known for his role as Jason Mendoza in The Good Place, he has gained newfound fame after playing Qimir, a former smuggler who became the mysterious dark sider known as the Stranger, in the Disney+ series. Praised for delivering one of the best Sith performances in Star Wars history, Jacinto is now in the running for People’s 2024 Sexiest Heartthrob.
It’s the time of the year again as People prepares for its annual Sexiest Man Alive reveal on November 12. The magazine has started its 2024 Readers’ Choice Poll, where fans can cast their votes for 15 categories, including Sexiest Musician, Sexiest Supportive Partner in Sports, and more.
Jacinto is included in 2024’s Sexiest Heartthrob category, competing against his fellow TV stars: The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Gavin Casalegno, Mary & George’s Nicholas Galitzine, and Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi. Voting closes on September 20, and The Acolyte fans still have plenty of time to vote.
That said, fans have already started campaigning for Jacinto, taking to social media to ask everyone to vote for their favorite Sith. For many, he deserves to win because he is the hottest a man has ever looked on a TV show.
Manny Jacinto Praised For His Performance In Star Wars: The Acolyte
Qimir was finally revealed as The Acolyte’s main antagonist after being unmasked as the Stranger in Episode 5, Night. But instead of being hated by fans, he was praised for his great performance as Qimir / the Stranger, with some even saying it was one of the best in Star Wars history.
X user @BELLA_SNOWDEN revealed they were shaking from Jacinto’s performance after being revealed as the series' main villain.
In addition to his great acting abilities, many also commended Jacinto for his physique, especially in Episode 6, Teach / Corrupt, where he went skinny dipping on the Unknown Planet before being confronted by Osha (Amandla Stenberg). After showing off his muscular body, user @hunterbadbatch revealed they owed their life to whoever let Jacinto go naked in that episode.
Talking about his fight scene in Episode 5, the 37-year-old star told Entertainment Weekly that it was the first time he dug into something with so much action. As he previously participated in hip-hop dance competitions before focusing on his acting career, he managed to use his dance background in filming that scene.
“We worked on everything. We did boxing; we worked on kicks; we worked on all the choreography,” he said. “It was tough. They conditioned my body so that I could get through this five-person fight scene.”
Fortunately, Jacinto and the entire team's hard work paid off as Episode 5 was dubbed the best episode of The Acolyte. It received the highest IMDb rating of 6.5 out of 10 among all the episodes in the series.
Sadly, after the show's cancellation, fans may no longer see Jacinto reprising his role as Qimir / the Stranger in The Acolyte. Although he said it’s now his life goal to continue The Acolyte with Season 2, it remains to be seen if it will happen.
All episodes of The Acolyte are available on Disney+.
