Manny Jacinto is still getting used to the public’s love of some of his TV roles — especially when Star Wars fans are still asking him to choke them.
During Cosmopolitan’s video series “Blind Date,” which was posted on Tuesday, August 12, Jacinto, 37, was asked about the most shocking interactions he has had.
“I just did a show called The Acolyte, it’s in the Star Wars world,” he shared. “I obviously have Force power in the show, so sometimes fans will ask me to … choke them.”
Star Wars: The Acolyte, which premiered in June 2024, was set before the events of the Skywalker Saga as a series of murders lead Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) to reconnect with former pupil Osha (Amandla Stenberg) — and her not-so-dead twin sister, Mae.
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Jacinto was initially introduced on the show as a simple smuggler named Qimir, but the fifth episode turned the plot on its head when viewers learned he was the Stranger — a.k.a the man behind a brutal battle that left many Jedi warriors dead.
It didn’t take long for fans to develop an interest in Jacinto’s broody character, specifically when he started to take his shirt off.
“I mean, I think baby oil goes a long way,” Jacinto told GQ in July 2024 when asked about the overwhelming attraction to his character. “Baby oil and wet hair.”
The Acolyte’s creator, Leslye Headland, also weighed in on the strong reaction to Jacinto’s performance, saying, “The Stranger flips classic gender tropes of hypersexualization. But a true sex symbol is someone who resonates emotionally with fans. Manny’s magnetism is rooted in his acting, not just his physique. His ability to access vulnerability, empathy and longing is very compelling.”
Jacinto pointed out how the Stranger’s draw is that he doesn’t try to get fans to root for him.
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“He’s like that high school bad boy,” he added at the time. “He just minds his own business. He’s not pulling you, he’s not telling you to come and be with him. He’s just living his own life, and you wind up intrigued by what he’s doing.”
Despite the overwhelming interest in Jacinto — and his onscreen romance with Stenberg’s character Osha — Disney+ canceled the show in August 2024 after one season.
“In the fan art I’ve seen, there’s a good amount that implies … something between Osha and the Stranger,” Jacinto teased to GQ before The Acolyte officially came to an end.
He concluded: “That’s something that people, I think, have been yearning for in this genre, or at least in this IP, and I love that people are honing in on it and encouraging it. So I think people can look forward to more of that, possibly. If people want it, we can explore that in a subsequent season.”
