Jacob Batalon Is Ready to Be the Leading Man in Reginald the Vampire
Filipino-American actor Jacob Batalon is ready to step out of sidekick roles and take center stage. In his upcoming Syfy series Reginald the Vampire, Batalon will star as the lead vamp as he navigates the vain and dangerous life in the world of the undead. Not only will Batalon star as Reginald Baskin, but he’ll also be the show’s executive producer.
Based on the book series Fat Vampire by Johnny B. Truant, Reginald the Vampire is gearing up to be a hilarious and unique take on the popular vampire trope, this time with a lead character who isn’t a sparkly supermodel.
Vampires have always been hot commodities in Hollywood, almost always portrayed by the likes of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson, Paul Wesley, and more. But this time around, Reginald the Vampire is taking a different route, with a lead actor who doesn’t look like he was carved from stone… and who also happens to be a person of color.
Not only is the show promoting diversity, but you can expect Reginald the Vampire to make smart commentary on just how much society glorifies and immortalizes the Western standard of beauty.
“It’s a very powerful message to see someone like me, an Asian American—specifically a Filipino-American—be a lead of a series. We sort of turn vampire tropes on their head. I love that we truly make sure that we let people know that we’re poking fun at those people, that the real story is about Reginald and not vampirism,” said Batalon to Entertainment Weekly.
Batalon, who was raised in Hawaii to Filipino parents, is best known for his portrayal of Ned Leeds in Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man trilogy. As Ned, Batalon played the trustworthy best friend to Peter Parker, but as Reginald, Batalon takes the mantle as lead man.
“Reginald is a person who can be overlooked as just another person, and people don’t really care to look behind the curtain. The fact that he has been judged by people and has gone through all these negative things in his life puts him in a place where he has accepted his fate.”
Described by Batalon as an “uplifting series” that fights how society judges how we look, Reginald the Vampire will premiere on Syfy on October 5.
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