'Spider-Man' Star Jacob Batalon Reflects on Losing More Than 100 Lbs
Jacob Batalon is reflecting on how his 100-pound weight loss transformation changed his mental outlook on life.
The Spider-Man star, 27, began his journey to better health in 2019 to overcome sluggishness and being sleepy while at work.
He lost the weight over a two year span, and now three years later, he’s kept the weight off and has a more positive perspective on life.
“I’ve learned that I’m definitely able to commit,” Batalon told E! News in an interview published Wednesday, May 8.”That was something that hindered me before with my weight and with work. I feel like it’s easy to be on set all day, snack and just pass out in your trailer for a few hours. I’ve really had to control that side of me and be professional and on point with my health, because health is wealth.”
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Batalon portrayed Peter Parker’s best friend Ned Leeds in five Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero 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 achieved his transition during the pandemic and is proud of how he maintained discipline in his diet and exercise routine.
“I had to put myself in a specific mindset and be stricter and more on a schedule. I think that’s helped me not only with my health, but in my life as well,” Batalon added. “It’s put a lot of things in perspective for me.”
He worked out six days a week with his trainer over FaceTime, and followed a protein-and-veggie-centric meal plan.
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Batalon is currently starring in and serving as an executive producer of Reginald the Vampire, which debuted its second season on Wednesday. He says being healthier and more mentally alert has enabled him to feel confident moving from supporting actor to the leading man of his Syfy series.
“You put a lot of responsibility on yourself when you’re leading a show,” he continued. “The level of preparedness that I needed to have, I had to learn how to gain that.”
Batalon began his acting career in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he recalled how his cousins motivated him and helped him shoot the audition tape when he lacked self-confidence.
“If it wasn’t for their belief I don’t think I would have believed in myself enough to want to try,” he said.
At the time, Batalon believed it was a waste of energy, calling the process “another throw-away tape that I’ve done a million times for a bunch of different people.”
That audition launched his acting career. In addition to Reginald the Vampire, Batalon is also starring in a new horror film, Tarot, which opened Friday, May 3. In the movie, a group of college students use a strange tarot card deck, and they begin to gruesomely die one-by-one. He provides comic relief as Paxton, who he described as “a stubborn non-believer turned true fanatic.”
