‘Freakier Friday’ stint feels like a dream for Manny Jacinto

Even Filipino-Canadian Manny Jacinto couldn’t believe he got to star opposite Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in Disney’s Freakier Friday.

The film, a sequel to the 2003 classic Freaky Friday, follows Curtis and Lohan reprising their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman. The story picks up years after Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) endured an identity crisis. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. 

Jacinto portrays single dad Eric Reyes, Anna’s new love interest.

“It feels like a dream, honestly. I never would have thought. I was born here, a local boy, and now I get to act opposite Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, which is wild to me,” Jacinto said at a fan event in SM Mall of Asia on 5 August. 

In the film, Jacinto is a successful chef and restaurant owner. He meets Lohan, and they fall in love. Their daughters, however, don’t get along. 

“I’m going to play a father for the first time. I am going to have an anak (child), a little kid of my own for the first time. I didn’t know how to react at first. I just drew upon the experiences of my parents, those memories,” he said. 

As they navigate the myriad challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice. 

Freakier Friday is directed by Nisha Ganatra and is based on the book Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers. The film also stars Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Rosalind Chao, Chad Michael Murray, Vanessa Bayer and Mark Harmon.

The film is now showing in cinemas nationwide. 

“It’s nerve-wracking. I can’t wait. I hope I made you guys proud,” Jacinto added. 

Jacinto is known for his roles in The Good Place (2016), Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and The Acolyte (2024).