Jacob Batalon is a Filipino-American actor born October 9, 1996, in Honolulu, Hawaii, who achieved international fame portraying Ned Leeds in five Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man films from 2017 to 2021. After studying at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, he landed his breakthrough role through a direct audition with Tom Holland. Batalon has since starred in Syfy’s “Reginald the Vampire” and various films, becoming a prominent figure in Asian-American representation while incorporating Filipino cultural elements into his work.
Jacob Batalon, a Filipino-American actor who gained international recognition through his portrayal of Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was born on October 9, 1996, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Filipino migrant parents Vangie Andres and Billy Batalon, both originally from Pangasinan.
Filipino-American actor Jacob Batalon rose to international fame portraying Ned Leeds in Marvel’s Spider-Man films, born in Honolulu to Pangasinan natives.
Raised in a Catholic household with strong Filipino cultural ties, Batalon grew up alongside seven half-siblings, including a brother and sister from his mother’s side and three brothers and two sisters from his father’s side.
During his childhood, Batalon began appreciating performance arts at age seven, though he did not initially plan to pursue acting professionally. His educational journey took him through St. Anthony’s School and later Damien Memorial School, before enrolling at Kapiʻolani Community College to study music theory.
After losing interest in music, he dropped out and applied to the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts on a whim, where he completed a two-year acting program. His immediate chemistry with Tom Holland during the audition process helped solidify his casting in the Spider-Man franchise.
Batalon’s breakthrough came remarkably quickly after graduation, when he auditioned directly with Tom Holland for Spider-Man: Homecoming and was cast as Ned Leeds. This role launched him into international stardom, with his character appearing in five MCU films: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
He also appeared in the web series The Daily Bugle from 2019 to 2021.
Beyond the Marvel universe, Batalon made his acting debut in North Woods (2016) and took on diverse roles across multiple genres. He appeared in Every Day (2017), portrayed Sancho Panza in The True Don Quixote (2018), and played Keon in the Netflix film Let It Snow (2019).
Most recently, he starred as the titular character in the Syfy series Reginald the Vampire from 2022 to 2024. He is scheduled to reprise his Marvel role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day in 2026.
Batalon has become one of the few Filipino-American actors to achieve mainstream Hollywood recognition, making him a significant figure in Pacific Islander and Asian-American representation.
He honors his heritage by incorporating elements of Filipino culture into his work, including using the Ilocano language in Reginald the Vampire and adopting the surname “Andres” in the show as tribute to his mother, Vangie Andres.
Standing 5’5″ tall, Batalon maintains close family ties and is currently in a relationship with Brooke Reyna while serving as godfather to Kaleah Marie.
