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Here’s How Hard Actor Manny Jacinto Trained for His Role as The Stranger

There’s a lot that goes into the Star Wars: The Acolyte leading man’s workout routine

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MJ Jose

<p>One of the greatest pop culture reveals of 2024 was that <strong>Manny Jacinto</strong>’s innocuous, unassuming Qimir was merely a cover for his true nature as The Stranger, a Force-sensitive Sith with no name. You’ve read that right: the new <strong>Disney+ Star Wars</strong> series has the Filipino-Canadian hottie working his acting chops to play the Big Bad—and he’s got the body to go with it, too.</p><div><br/></div><p>Welcome to The Good Place. Everything is fine. (Pun intended.) </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/1e218288-fcac-427e-9e91-d1dd0caa12c6_manny jacinto 1.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Manny Jacinto<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> @mannyjacinto  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>If you were a fan of the fantasy-comedy series, you would have been introduced to Jacinto as Jason Mendoza, a simple-minded yet kind Fil-Am disc jockey and drug dealer from Jacksonville, Florida who seems to have wound up in the Good Place by mistake. Fans were excited about his appearance in Top Gun: Maverick—one because it was a huge deal; two because he was going to appear shirtless—but we were met with disappointment when his screen time was reduced to a mere few seconds and zero lines. Jacinto was very mature about the outcome, saying it only fueled his determination to make things happen for himself as an Asian-American actor. His turn as The Stranger is that renaissance, and he found himself even more motivated to hit the gym.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/78fa3927-f4f6-47cc-8642-712525574b2c_manny jacinto 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/wellness/fitness/katy-perry-fitness-workout-diet-routine/38439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here’s How Katy Perry Stays in Shape</a></div>Once the kind of guy who worked out to impress girls, Jacinto shifted focusing his later years, opting to get into the gym lifestyle to lead a better, healthier life. Before his foray into acting, he often participated in hip-hop competitions, and he uses his dance background as the backbone for his strength and mobility-based workouts. Jacinto trains four to five days a week, and makes sure to take his rest days. To prepare for Top Gun, he took part of the 75-Day Challenge: complete two workouts, drink a gallon of water, and read 10 pages of a book a day. While he didn’t clock in 150 workouts, he took the water aspect seriously, and was amazed at how staying hydrated helped with his acne and overall skin health. <div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/609f163e-a04c-4816-87ea-20d129fb8c7b_manny jacinto 4.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><p>He had about five months to prepare for his fight scene in The Acolyte, which involved learning how to work with the lightsaber, especially because his character was far from a novice. The movements just so happened to parallel Filipino arnis, especially when dual wielding was involved. A lot of hard work went into the process. He practiced choreography and cardio with the stunt team in the morning, did and strength training in the afternoon. He was also provided with the services of a nutritionist and physical therapist to make sure his overall condition was good. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/468d50be-1522-40db-ba36-5e2e7f12d193_manny jacinto 5.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><p>Jacinto shared with <a href="source: https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a61646820/manny-jacinto-the-acolyte-qimir-the-stranger-interview/" target="_blank">Men’s Health</a>: “There’s this thing called the Roman chair, where you&#x27;re on a slant facing down. That chair saved my life. It saved my lower back. One of the stunt guys recommended using that daily and it helped not injuring myself and making sure I was ready to go. A strong posterior chain, rear delts, strong lats... everything in the back had to be strong for me to have power moving forward. My chest workouts were like, minimal to none; it didn&#x27;t really benefit me to have a big chest.”</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8u59eFvlWY/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8u59eFvlWY/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div> <div 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translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"> <div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8u59eFvlWY/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Manny Jacinto (@mannyjacinto)</a></div></div></blockquote> </div><div><br/></div><p>The much-talked about choking scene had the internet going gaga over him. While he hopes to not build a career on getting jacked, muddied, and slathered up in baby oil, he finds the attention flattering and sees it as an opportunity to help build on the foundation of Asian men being desirable—and they absolutely are.</p><div><br/></div><p>Feel like unleashing your inner Sith Lord in the gym? Here’s a quick rundown of one of the workout routines Jacinto swears by:</p><ul><li>Spiderman Lunge With Rotation (World&#x27;s Greatest Stretch)8 reps per side</li><li>Medball Skater30 seconds</li><li>Resisted Lateral Bear Crawl30 seconds</li><li>Kettlebell Snatch to Windmill5 reps per side</li><li>Half-Kneeling Lateral Toss10 reps per side</li><li>Bridge Position Chest Press3 sets of 10 reps</li><li>Side Plank Twist to Reach3 sets of 15 reps</li><li>Fanbike Intervals6 minutes / 30 second sprint, 30 seconds controlled</li></ul><div><br/></div><p>Banner photo via <strong>@mannyjacinto</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/wellness/fitness/byeon-woo-seok-fitness-secrets/38394" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Want a Body Like K-Drama Hottie Byeon Woo-seok? Here’s How He Does It! </a></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>