Jacob Batalon opens up on his 'Spider-Man' journey; hopes to work with Manny Jacinto, Nico Santos

Fil-Am actor Jacob Batalon just wanted to have a job.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that the job he was going to get was in one of Hollywood's most successful blockbuster franchises, "Spider-Man."

Batalon, who appears as Peter Parker's best friend Ned Leeds, is now on his fourth "Spider-Man" movie, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.

He also appeared in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017), "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021).

Now 29 years old, the Honolulu-born actor, who simply sent a self-taped audition for this "unnamed Marvel project" when he auditioned for "Spider-Man: Homecoming," told us in an exclusive interview that he never expected all this fame and success.

Photo by Sthanlee B. Mirador

The charming and humble actor, whose parents, Nestor Batalon and Vangie Andres, hail from San Manuel, Pangasinan, admitted that his friendship with Tom Holland and Zendaya (who portrays MJ) has grown over the years.

"We started making these movies when we were teenagers. So, I think we had no idea when we were younger that we were going to make it this far and that 'Spider-Man' was going to become so, so, so powerful and influential. I think we were just grateful that we got to be a part of this stuff and to grow together," he said.

Raised in Hawaii, Batalon was just seven years old when he saw his first "Spider-Man" movie that starred Tobey Maguire, so he has felt it has come full circle.

Asked why he thinks Spider-Man is special, Batalon replied, "Oh, because he's the most relatable character, the most relatable superhero. He's like a teenager. When you first meet him, and you kind of watch him grow up and become the hero that he needs to become for everybody, he experiences things like normal people do. He's just a kid who happens to have powers. So, I think that's what people love about him the most."

A 2014 graduate of Damien Memorial School and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts where he studied acting in a two-year program, Batalon as Ned in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" creates an app called a "Spidey Tracker" to find the "missing link" between him, MJ, and Spider-Man.

So how does he see the arc of his character go in this franchise, we asked.

"I think for me, I'm very much just grateful to be a part of 'Spider-Man.' I think wherever they want to take it, I'll follow," he answered.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

In "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Ned interacted with his Filipino grandmother Lola, portrayed by Mary Rivera (who passed away in April in Honolulu at the age of 82), who spoke Tagalog as well. Does he see anything like it coming up again?

"I would hope so. I think in Hollywood, it's hard to grow representation. It's become better for people of color, especially for Filipinos. But we could be doing more for sure."

For Batalon, the biggest challenge for him in making this movie was preparing himself to turn back into Ned. "He's very nice and happy and everything, and I'm very not like that. So, I think really going back to Ned as a person was the biggest challenge. I have to really find that in myself," he said.

Batalon, who last visited the Philippines in 2019 and described it as "a very beautiful time," confessed that what he missed most about the Philippines was "the sense of community, the culture, obviously, and the people. They made me feel so welcome, so loved and so appreciated. I'd love to come back at some point when I'm not busy."

If given a chance to film "Spider-Man" in the Philippines, he would like Spider-Man, Ned and MJ "probably visit the Hundred Islands, go on a boat and just go on the beach for a day."

"Or, probably, they could be fighting the Aswang. That would be good," he added with a chuckle.

We told him he is one of the lucky ones to have a blockbuster movie as his debut movie. So, what would he suggest to other Filipino Americans who want to follow his footsteps?

"I think one of the big things that I've learned is that you work hard to get lucky. You don't hope and wish for things to happen to yourself. You keep moving even if you don't win all the time. And not every day needs to be inspired. If you just keep moving every single day, you'll get to the place that you want to be," he said.

Photo by Sthanlee B. Mirador

And if he were given a chance to do a movie in the Philippines, who would he want to work with?

"I really love Manny Jacinto. And I really love Nico Santos, too. I'd really love to do like a buddy cop film with them. That'd be really fun," he said.

With him being in a fantastic stage in his life right now with a box-office hit like "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (breaking box-office records in the US, the Philippines and other parts of the world) and getting married recently to architectural designer Veronica Leahov, what else does he dream of right now?

"Just to continue to reach my personal goals and to hopefully direct a movie at some point and to produce another TV show because that was really fun."

And what movie does he plan to make?

"Oh, I'm writing something for myself that I'd like to make. I'm writing about this guy who's like a movie writer who's maniacal, and he's very pessimistic, and he's not really the most positive person, but he finds light through this woman who shows him that love is very beautiful and powerful and her perspective on the world," he shared.

As for the growing worldwide fans of "Spider-Man," Batalon simply said, "They're amazing, and they're so welcoming. They truly have given me so much. I'm thankful that they still want me to be a part of 'Spider-Man.' And we really do make these movies for them." —MGP, GMA News