Whether you’ve been a One Piece fan for 20 years or you’re a newcomer that got sucked in by the live action, we all have one thing in common…we’re eagerly awaiting Season 2!
Greatness doesn’t just happen overnight, and that can be proven through the hard work and dedication the cast and crew put into the live-action adaptation of One Piece. In order to produce such a successful adaptation of this legendary anime and manga, there was a certain level of detail and passion that had to be taken into account by the creative teams. Luckily for fans, there’s a treasure trove of fascinating stories about the making of the show.
These are the 9 coolest things we learned about the One Piece actors, including on-set stories, their previous relationship to Oda’s legendary series, and more.
1. Emily Rudd And Mackenyu Have Past Martial Arts Experience
Mackenyu is no stranger to the live-action adaptation world with many different anime adaptions under his belt. Not only did he have a major role in Rurouni Kenshin – a story that heavily focuses on martial arts and swordsmanship – but he is the son of legendary actor and martial artist Sonny Chiba.
Additionally, Emily Rudd has a history with martial arts and even shared in a Netflix interview that she’s loved the hobby since she was young:
I actually grew up doing karate, so it’s a really fun thing to be able to do again [for One Piece.]
2. Sanji’s Kicking Style Incorporated Many Different Techniques
There are many one-of-a-kind fighters in the world of One Piece, and Sanji is one of them. He’s known for using only his feet during combat to avoid damaging his hands. When stunt coordinator Franz Spilhaus spoke with Netflix about arranging Sanji’s fight scenes, he and Taz Skylar revealed that many different techniques were utilized to keep the chef’s battles engaging:
Franz Spilhaus: We did a mixture of kicking styles with Sanji because surprisingly enough fighting with just your feet is a tough one to keep interesting.
Taz Skylar: So they wanted Capoeira influences, they wanted some breakdancing influences…
3. Taz Skylar’s Role As Sanji Helped Him Reconnect With Food
A very crucial part of Sanji’s character in One Piece is his love and passion for food, and that character trait bled into actor Taz Skylar’s life as he prepared for the role. He spoke to Nuit Magazine about his struggles with eating disorders and how his portrayal of Sanji helped him reconnect with food:
My relationship with food and cooking is a nuanced one… through my early twenties I went through some pretty severe eating disorders. Anorexia and bulimia. And so I had to completely emotionally detach myself from food to get through it. For those who have had those disorders or even the ones going through it in some way now, you soon learn that it’s not something you can ever fully get rid of once you’ve had it… The best you can hope for is to manage it. And I do now. I’m proud of how far I’ve come… And now with Sanji I get to reconnect with food in a way that’s about finding the joy and pleasure in feeding others. Making sure that everyone is well fed. And finding new ways to even make the food I’ve been used to eating myself, taste and look better.
4. Iñaki Godoy Began Every Day On Set With A WWE Theme Song
Many actors have specific routines to fully immerse themselves in their roles, and Iñaki Godoy had an especially unique one. In an interview with Teen Vogue, he spoke about his day-to-day on the set of One Piece, and explained that he would walk onto set every morning with a WWE theme song playing in the background – resembling the type of fun environment Luffy would bring to his own crew:
I thought to myself, “What is the most important part about Luffy?” Well, he has fun, right? So what is my goal here as an actor to embody this character? Well, I wanna have fun and I want to create a fun environment. So every time I arrived on set, I would blast the John Cena theme song from the car. Sometimes it was the John Cena [theme song,] sometimes it was The Rock’s [theme song]… John Cena’s was the main [song.]
5. Jacob Romero Gibson Had Marksmanship Training
Jacob Romero Gibson’s character, Usopp, runs away from fights more often than engaging in them – but that doesn’t mean the actor didn’t have special training of his own.
Despite Usopp’s cowardly personality, he does have an insane talent in marksmanship and slingshots, and Gibson made sure to translate that into his portrayal of the character. He underwent marksmanship training and learned how to properly use a slingshot while taking on the role of Usopp.
6. Taz Skylar Took Cooking Classes To Prepare For His Role As Sanji
Some fans are well aware of the physical training many of the cast had to endure in order to prepare for their roles, but Taz Skylar took it a step further once he secured the role of Sanji.
Along with enduring martial arts training for eight hours straight every day, the actor also took professional culinary classes to immerse himself in the role. He even went as far as to constantly cook food for other cast members to practice his skills.
7. A Sword Was Specially Made Just To Fit In Mackenyu’s Mouth
Roronoa Zoro is known for his Three Sword Style way of fighting, and it was important that the live-action One Piece adaptation highlighted that in the series.
In order to do this, though, it was more than just having actor Mackenyu bite down on a third sword. His co-star Emily Rudd revealed to Netflix that to convincingly portray Zoro’s unique combat style, a special sword had to be made just to fit in Mackenyu’s mouth.
8. Mackenyu Got His Ear Pierced Just For His Role As Zoro
Longtime fans of Mackenyu probably noticed his new piercings when he was first revealed as Zoro. His three piercings were perfectly identical to that of the Pirate Hunter’s, and fans quickly speculated that the additional piercings were added just for the One Piece live-action.
The actor confirmed in an interview with Netflix that he solely got the piercings for his role as Zoro.
9. Iñaki Godoy Created A Luffy Journal To Prepare For His Role
Taking on the role of one of the most beloved anime characters of all time comes with a lot of pressure – and Iñaki Godoy took it in stride. In an interview with Teen Vogue, he revealed that part of his preparation to play Monkey D. Luffy involved creating an entire Luffy journal where he would note certain facts about the character and other One Piece trivia to fully immerse himself in the role:
While I was filming, I had a One Piece journal. So I had this little book – I put some pictures of Luffy in that book and I also put some pictures of me when I was a little kid because Luffy reminds me a lot of [myself] when I was a little kid. I also had notes on every episode on like, “Oh, these are the key moments. This is important, this is important, this is important – this is where [Luffy is] coming from, this is where [he’s] headed to.