Exclusive Interview: Jacob Batalon Talks Reginald the Vampire, Becoming an Executive Producer, and Filipino Representation

Jacob Batalon has quickly emerged as one of Hollywood’s most exciting young actors. He’s best known for his breakout role as Ned Leeds in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. This fall, he sinks his teeth in a new role as the title character in Reginald the Vampire as well as serves as the show’s executive producer.

Imagine a world populated by beautiful, fit, and vain vampires. Reginald Andres (Jacob Batalon) tumbles headlong into it as an unlikely hero who will have to navigate every kind of obstacle—the girl he loves but can’t be with, a bully manager at work, and the vampire chieftain who wants him dead. Fortunately, Reginald discovers he has a few unrecognized powers of his own.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to talk with Jacob about Reginald the Vampire, his work as an actor and executive producer on the series, and representing the Filipino community.

PC: How did you tap into this whole vampire role? Were you into vampires? What was your tactic to develop this character?
Jacob: What I really loved about Reginald is that it is a vampire show but it’s very much a human journey. More than anything else, that’s what drew me in. The tropes of vampires are fun to play for sure, but I love that Reginald is sort of everyone.

I feel like he represents everyone’s social anxieties and stresses and the problems that we all collectively share as people. Everything from first love to finding friends, trying to fit in, and trying to find your place in the universe. All of these are great human things that we explore throughout life. That’s what drew me into the show for sure. But also the blood in the beginning. But now I hate it. [laughs]

PC: How did you handle the blood?
Jacob: Honestly, not well. [laughs] It was definitely terrible. I had to stop myself from throwing up sometimes. It was so gross.

PC: You and the characters that you have played have had such an impact on audiences, specifically the Asian American community. What has it meant to you as a Filipino American to be a lead of a series like this, and how do you hope this project will open doors for future generations?
Jacob: It’s truly an amazing honor. Being people of color in the industry, you don’t really get to see people like us, and the people that we do see are these stereotypical versions. Every marginalized group has felt this heavily in the industry. I would say for Asian Americans and for Filipino Americans, we are seen. We are being heard. I want them to know that this is just the beginning of the narrative. We’re here. We’re going to stay. We’re going to keep winning.

PC: In addition to being the lead of the series, you’re also an executive producer. Have you found that the work that you’ve done behind the camera has impacted the way that you approach this character on screen and vice versa?
Jacob: I would say so. As actors, we’re always wrapped up in our own stuff. We don’t really think of the whole picture. When you’re on both sides of it, you understand the message that’s being conveyed. You understand what the point of each scene is, and you want to make sure you play it to the best of your ability.

As an actor, I’m always worried about my performance. But in the editing room, I’m worried about what cut makes sense. It’s a tightrope to walk. You have to stop critically thinking of yourself and your performance. We’re all our worst critics. Sometimes you have to just disconnect.

PC: There’s great chemistry that comes off the screen with you and the cast. What was set life like?
Jacob: Everyone, first and foremost, was amazing. It was a really good bunch of people. I really hope we all come back for the same thing next season. Working during a pandemic, you understand how privileged we were to be making something while the world was on fire. You want to respect that.

We had things in place to make sure that we wouldn’t get too crazy. We took our jobs very seriously, and we wanted to make sure that we were not taking it for granted. But that being said, it was the best environment to be in at a time like that. I feel like when you’re in a pandemic, you try to find people to cling onto and hang onto. Because of that, we have such great chemistry. Everyone at work loves being there. People were genuinely looking forward to it.

To keep up with Jacob, follow him on Instagram. Reginald the Vampire premieres on October 5th at 10/9c on Syfy.

Photo Credit: Marcus Nartatez