Manny Jacinto slams ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ for cutting his lines: ‘Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise’

He feels the need for speed.

Manny Jacinto , 36, is speaking out about “Top Gun: Maverick” cutting down his part.

“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me,” Jacinto told GQ in an interview published Wednesday.

Jacinto, who is Filipino-Canadian and is married to “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” actress Dianne Doan, 33, added, “It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise.”

Tom Cruise risks his life hanging off a plane — and other unbelievable ‘Mission: Impossible’ stunts

He continued, “It’s up to us — Asian Americans, people of color — to be that [for ourselves]. We can’t wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves.”

In the $1.5 billion box office hit, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which has been credited with saving the box office after the dismal pandemic year of 2020, Jacinto played LT Billy “Fritz” Avalone.

But, he said, after months of training and gym sessions, all his lines were cut, and his character had hardly any screen time in the finished product.

“There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes,” said Jacinto.

The movie catapulted Glen Powell and Miles Teller to higher levels of fame.

Nicole Kidman’s daughter had a surprising reaction to ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ — which starred actor’s ex Tom Cruise

But it hardly boosted Jacinto’s spotlight.

Jacinto, who was also in “Nine Perfect Strangers” with Nicole Kidman, is best known for playing Jason, the goofy amateur DJ in “The Good Place” alongside Kristen Bell and Jameela Jamil. When fans come up to him and say Jason’s signature catchphrase, “Bortles!” it “puts a smile on my face,” he told The Post in 2021.

He also recently co-starred in the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” on Disney+.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR MORNING REPORT NEWSLETTER

“Fortunately, it still was a great experience — you get to see this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise,” Jacinto told GQ about “Top Gun: Maverick.”

He said that he learned from that experience of getting mostly cut from the film.

“Maybe it’s my lack of faith in this industry, but the people of color who find success, I feel like they still have to work at it and continue to fight for roles. The people I look up to—if you look at Steven Yeun, or Kumail Nanjiani, or even Donald Glover—they all had to, in some shape or form, create [projects for themselves] in order to continue to have a platform,” Jacinto went on.

He added, “Or even look at Dev Patel! He’s a huge star, but he had to make ‘Monkey Man’ himself [to get an action role like that], and that was even shelved at one point. That’s crazy to me. So that’s why I have this caution toward whether or not the industry will move things forward for my career. If anything, it fuels me to try and create things on my own terms and hopefully lead projects that way.”

In January, it was reported that a third “Top Gun” movie was in the works with Cruise, Powell and Teller attached.

For the latest in entertainment, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/entertainment/