Manny Jacinto, who played LT Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone in Top Gun: Maverick, revealed that all of his scenes were cut from the film. He is now discussing his brief role in the final cut of Tom Cruise’s movie.
Jacinto, who is currently gaining attention for his work in The Acolyte, spoke to GQ magazine about his experience. He mentioned that he trained for months for his role in Top Gun, only to find that his scenes were left on the cutting room floor. His character, Fritz, only appears briefly in the background in a few scenes.
Despite this, Jacinto described the experience as “great.” He said, “It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me. I could sense the film’s direction on set, noticing that the camera was focusing more on other characters and less on our scenes. Fortunately, it was still a great experience—I got to see a huge machine at work, observe how Tom Cruise operates, and be a small part of this major franchise.”
Jacinto also commented, “At the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. It’s up to us—Asian Americans and people of color—to create those stories for ourselves. We can’t wait for someone else to do it. If we want bigger stories, we need to make them ourselves.”
About Top Gun: Maverick
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick featured Tom Cruise reprising his iconic role after 36 years, while training a new generation of recruits. The film also starred Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, and Ed Harris. Released on May 27, 2022, it received positive reviews and earned over $1 billion worldwide.
