Spidey’s best friend is a Pinoy

SINGAPORE — As soon as Jacob Batalon sat down for this one-on-one at a suite in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, I gave him copies of my books, Conversations with Ricky Lo 1 and 2.

“Some kind of an introduction for you to Filipino actors, in case you find yourself working with them someday,” I told him.

Jacob turned the pages, as if looking for somebody, and smiled.

“You know, I got a crush on this beautiful actress whom I watched in a Filipino TV series,” he confessed, adding with a frown, “oh gosh, I feel so bad that I didn’t get her name. Anyway, in that series she’s jealous of her sister and she performs very well. She’s very pretty. I come from a close Filipino family in a typical Filipino home, and we watch a lot of Filipino shows on cable TV and we do a lot of karaoke.”

Every time he watches Filipino TV shows, does he feel a certain affinity to his parents’ homeland?

“Yeah. You know, for the most part it’s a really cool thing to have Filipinos on TV because we are not represented in the media that much. I think it’s great to have our own outlet.”

Jacob, 21, is the Filipino actor tapped as Ned Leeds, the best friend of Peter Parker/Spider-Man played by Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming which marks the return of the well-loved superhero to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Born and raised in Hawaii by Filipino parents, Jacob has graduated overnight from one small role (in North Woods, 2016) to a big break in the latest adventure of Spider-Man.

“The gravity of it didn’t sink in until we went to Comic-Con last year,” said the incredulous Jacob who, with his hard-to-miss presence, was said to have unwittingly stolen a few scenes from Tom. “During that Comic-Con, I saw how much fans love Spider-Man; they just go crazy for Tom.” (Note: More about Tom Holland in a future Conversation.)

In the film to be released nationwide by Columbia Pictures starting next Thursday, July 6, Ned Leeds stars as Parker/Spider-Man’s friend but when Parker begins his journey into the solitary world of Spider-Man, Leeds feels like he’s left out.

Describing his character, Jacob said, “Ned is very sweet and very genuine. You could even say that he’s somewhat nerdy. He loves technology, he’s super-duper smart. The only thing he wants is to be Peter’s right-hand man, so he feels frustrated when he feels that Peter is getting too cool for him, like he’s losing somebody very important to him. Finally, Ned learns about Peter’s secret and it’s cool having Spider-Man as his best friend again.”

Has he ever imagined that he would be in a Spider-Man movie?

“Uhm, you know, in any profession you kind of imagine yourself at the very top of it. While I am not at the top of my profession per se, I think that I am in a very good spot. I’ve always imagined myself doing well whatever I did. And being in this film really, really is a dream come true.”

As a kid, Jacob recalled that the first superhero movie that he watched was Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man.

“That was a big part of my childhood. I can’t believe that I am now a part of building that story. I have come full circle and it feels pretty crazy. I’ve always had this particular interest in superheroes and see how they look like. Before, I thought superheroes were superheroes all the time and they never really had another life.”

Jacob got the plum after doing a self-taped audition set by his manager at that time, beating dozens of other aspirants.

“After two weeks, they gave me a callback for a screen test with Tom. I went to Burbank in LA and did the test with Tom. After two months and a half of waiting, I finally got a call that was the moment that changed my life. They liked me and they took a chance on me.”

Did his being Asian help him bag the role?

“That was regardless of nationality or race. I like to think that our director, Jon Watts, didn’t choose the people who looked right for the role, he chose the people who were right for the role.”

So how much of him is Filipino?

“I am pure Filipino; both my parents are Filipino. I have a brother and a sister from my mother, and a brother and two sisters from my father. I studied in a Catholic school in Oahu and I went to a film school in New York. Growing up, I wanted to be a musician. As I’ve said, we are a typical Filipino family that loves to sing. My mom was a typical Filipino mom. If your kid can sing, let him go up the stage and sing. I would sing Elvis Presley songs. As a kid, that would mortify me. But I think that was how I got over my fear of performing before an audience.”

Sadly, Jacob doesn’t speak Tagalog even if at home, according to him, most everybody was speaking in Tagalog.

“But I can understand it as if it’s English.”

And how is he like Ned Leeds?

“I like Ned Leeds. I love the character so much. He’s a very new character in the MCU. I think he’s a very fresh take on people in the superhero world. Some superheroes crack under pressure; and Ned Leeds, who is not a superhero, doesn’t.”

Really now, did he really unknowingly steal some scenes from Tom?

“Oh no, thank you! Tom and I were really very close and he has more films under his belt than I have. He was very good to me, very helpful to me. I love him to death; he’s like a brother to me.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)