Jacob Andres Batalon (born October 9, 1996) is an American actor. Batalon achieved international recognition playing Ned Leeds in five Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films, beginning with a supporting role in ' (2017), cameos in ' (2018) and ' (2019), and further supporting roles in ' (2019) and ' (2021), as well as appearing in the web series The Daily Bugle (2019âÂÂ2021). He also played Keon in the Netflix film Let It Snow (2019), and the titular character in the Syfy television series Reginald the Vampire (2022âÂÂ2024).
Jacob Batalon was born on October 9, 1996, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Filipino migrant parents, Nestor Batalon and Vangie Andres from Pangasinan. Batalon has seven half-siblings: a brother and a sister from his mother, and three brothers and two sisters from his father. His mother regularly accompanied him at auditions. In an episode of Reginald the Vampire, Batalon spoke Ilocano language to trace his real life heritage, even using 'Andres' as ReginaldâÂÂs surname to honor his mother, Vangie.
Upon graduating from the private Catholic school St. Anthony's School, he went to Damien Memorial School, then Batalon attended Kapiûolani Community College to study music theory, but later dropped out. He then took a two-year program to study acting at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.
Batalon made his acting debut in the 2016 film North Woods. As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he first appeared as Peter Parker's best friend Ned Leeds in ' (2017). It was Batalon's first major role. He reprised the role in ' (2018), ', ', (both 2019) and ' (2021). He is set to reprise the role in ' (2026).
In 2018, Batalon played one of the bodies inhabited by spirit A in the young-adult film Every Day. In 2020, he lost for his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In 2021, Batalon was cast as the titular Reginald in Syfy's dramedy series Reginald the Vampire. In 2025, Batalon was featured in the film Novocaine, playing as Roscoe Dixon, Nathan "Novocaine" Caine's online gaming friend.
In March 2025, Batalon got engaged to architectural designer Veronica Leahov.