Manny Jacinto Was Living in a 5-Bedroom House with Nurses Before Landing “The Good Place:” 'It Was a Fight to Survive' (Exclusive)

The Good Place changed Manny Jacinto's life.

The 38-year-old has the sitcom to thank for his Hollywood success, as playing Jason Mendoza from 2016 to 2020 on the acclaimed NBC comedy is what launched his career. He starred alongside Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, D'Arcy Carden and Jameela Jamil on the Michael Schur-created show, which explored the afterlife and its unexpected twists.

And when he looks back on the show amidst the "wild" year he's having now, Jacinto says it changed everything. "Thank goodness for that show because I was able to buy groceries," he tells PEOPLE as he says he "never would've thought" he'd be where he is.

When Jacinto landed the role, he says he was "living in a five-bedroom house with a bunch of nurses and just trying to make it work."

"When that audition came through and when I was able to get that — it changed my life, it really did," the actor says now.

Reflecting on his time in the five-bedroom house while he tried to make his Hollywood dreams a reality, the Freakier Friday star says, "I think it was a fight to survive at that point."

There were "so many special moments" on set of the series, Jacinto says, as he names a few that come to mind. "Getting to work with Ted for the first time, meeting Kristen and all the babies in the crew — whether it be Jameela or D'Arcy and Will."

Even the location alone of the set was pinch-me for him. "Just being on the lot in Universal and seeing the trams go by, so many special moments."

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With roles in Star Wars: The Acolyte, Top Gun: Maverick and Nine Perfect Strangers as well as starring opposite Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in the long-awaited Freaky Friday sequel now under his belt, Jacinto says his younger self would not believe how his life looks these days.

"If I told him that I was here, he'd be like, 'What are you talking about, man? You should be in an office, in front of a computer, being an engineer or something,' " he quips.

"He wouldn't believe me for sure," the actor continues in disbelief. "It's wild that I get to be here, so I'm taking in every single moment."

The way that the series changed Jacinto's life is a similar story to that of Jamil, 39, who said ealrier this year that she "ran out of money" just before landing her role as Tehani.

“I was so desperate for money at that point. I had $17 left in my bank account,” she said on David Tennant Does a Podcast With… in March. “I was real keen."

Jamil had never acted prior to The Good Place, which made her hesitant to audition at all. "[I] just thought that was a sacrilege," she admitted. "So I went to the audition, just very much so not thinking anything was going to come of it."