Jacob Batalon has a go-to phrase when he feels himself slipping, and it all comes down to one person: Zendaya.
The Spider-Man franchise has always been defined by the tight bond between its three young leads, but Batalon’s latest comments push that friendship into something closer to a life philosophy. Years of premieres, press junkets, and on-set chaos together have clearly rubbed off on him in ways that go well beyond acting.
Jacob Batalon Explains the “Zendaya Wouldn’t” Rule
“It’s just like hard, like, sometimes when I want to be a dick, I’m like, ‘F—, Zendaya wouldn’t.’ So it’s like, God, you know,” Batalon said. The host jumped in with the obvious follow-up, telling him he should ask himself, “What would Zendaya do?”
Batalon ran with it, crediting his co-star with teaching him a version of himself he actively works to live up to.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve I’ve learned a lot of like grace through calm, like with her, you know? I think a lot of times in my own personal life, I always feel like I could just f—– go off the rails, but I just kind of remind myself like there’s other things that I could be going through that are way worse,” Batalon, who plays Ned, added.
He didn’t stop at grace. Batalon tied the whole mindset back to gratitude, specifically the gratitude he feels toward the people who have been by his side since Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“And like, a lot of that’s just being grateful. Like I just remember a lot like our time together is just being just being thankful for being there. And like just remembering that energy all the time with them,” he added.
It’s a rare glimpse into how deep the Spider-Man trio’s friendship actually runs off-camera. Batalon, Holland, and Zendaya have spent nearly a decade growing up together on this franchise, and it shows in how naturally he credits her for shaping his outlook, not just his career.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day now out in the world, expect more of this kind of unfiltered, family-style honesty from Batalon as the trio continues making the rounds to promote the film.
You May Also Like: