Manny Jacinto, who takes on the role of the lovable Jason Mendoza onThe Good Place, made some interesting remarks about how he made an annoying sitcom archetype stand out. With its comments on morality, the consequences of actions, and what happens after death,The Good Placeis one of the most relevant shows of our time.
While the end ofThe Good Placeseason 1 featured one ofthe biggest plot twists on TV, the later installments of the series continued to evolve and add new and fun information to its premise. The cast of the series, in particular, did an outstanding job of adding humor to an otherwise serious topic.
During the recentDenver Fan Expo, whichScreen Rantattended, Jacinto shed some light on his character and his experience on the hit comedy show. The actor explained why it was hard to play Jason onThe Good Place, and delved into how his character was different from the usual annoying archetype frequently seen in sitcoms. Read his full comments below:
There’s so many dummy roles onscreen, and luckily I’m a huge fan of comedies. I go to Friends, so you’ve got Joey from Friends. And you’ve got Andy on Parks and Rec. He’s a dummy. You have, um, you have just so many archetypes, and it’s so hard to play that role because you get annoying really, really fast. So then the door that I was able to walk through was just finding his emotional intelligence because if he’s not intelligent as a person, he has to have some sort of intelligence to be able to be redeeming. And it just came down to him being like a five year old. Like your eyes are just wide with pure imagination. You want to please the people that are around you. But with that, you have some pretty dumb decisions.
What Manny Jacinto’s Comments About Jason Mean For The Good Place
Jason Is One Of The Best Characters In The Good Place
Given howThe Good Placehad such a great cast and larger-than-life characters, it’s easy to see how a character like Jason could get lost in the crowd. However, he ended up being one of the best things aboutThe Good Place.Jacinto’s comments about Jason are enlighteningand confirm that his choices with the character were intentional.
SinceJason wasn’t the brightest member in the group, he had an intuition and a sense of self that the other characters were missing. He never pretended to be something he wasn’t, but instead learnt to see his flaws as the show went on.Jason’s evolution and emotional intelligence speak to how greatThe Good Placeisbecause it proves that the series was invested in developing its characters.
Our Take On Manny Jacinto’s Performance In The Good Place
Manny Jacinto Added A Layer Of Complexity To Jason
Although Jason wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, Jacinto made up for it by making his character have emotional intelligence, which isn’t often seen in other comedies. Jason is fun, but also deep and intuitive, which in turn added a layer of complexity toThe Good Place.Jacinto’s performance in the series is a joy to watch, especially because of how he was different from the other characters in the show.
While it’s easy for Jason’s aloofness to get annoying, Jacinto’s portrayal of the fan-favorite character ensured that audiences got to know him on a different level. He was the perfect addition to an already great cast as he seamlessly fit in with the other characters in the comedy. As a fan ofThe Good Place, Jason is one of my favorite sitcom characters who never fails to make me laugh.
The Good Place
Cast
Eleanor Shellstrop finds in The Good Place, both the name of the fantasy comedy series from creator Michael Schur and a fictionalized heaven where those who have done good in life will end up. However, Eleanor discovers that the life she was believed to have led was a lie, as it seems The Good Place got the wrong “Eleanor Shellstrop.” When it’s revealed that three others are there under the same false pretenses, they concoct a plan to truly become “Good” to earn their place there - while hiding the truth.
