One Piece live-action has been met with a resounding success following its premiere. Longtime fans and newcomers alike have been left craving more of the incredible talent that brought the beloved pirate crew to life. With Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero, and Tax Skylar at the helm, the charismatic ensemble cast has stolen hearts across the globe.
Each member of the One Piece live-action cast skillfully portrayed their respective Straw Hat crew member seamlessly capturing their essence with remarkable authenticity. From Luffy’s boundless energy to Zoro’s unyielding determination, Nami’s sharp wit to Sanji’s culinary flair. Each cast member played their characters’ role to stay true to their manga and anime counterparts, while also bringing an extra special flair to their portrayals.
One burning question that might be on everyone’s mind is: where can we see more of these talented actors in action? In this article, I will get into the main cast’s previous and future work. Get ready to set sail on a journey to explore the diverse worlds of entertainment where Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero, and Taz Skylar continue to shine.
Iñaki Godoy
Iñaki Godoy, the talented Mexican actor born on August 25, 2003, in Mexico City, is responsible for bringing Monkey D. Luffy to life in the One Piece live-action. Before joining the One Piece cast, Godoy showcased his acting prowess in other Netflix productions. One of his recent roles was as Juan Ruiz in The Imperfects a Canadian superhero science fiction series created by Dennis Heaton and Shelley Eriksen. Additionally, Godoy was on another Netflix hit, the Mexican crime-drama soap series titled Who Killed Sara? where he portrayed the reoccurring character Bruno. Beyond his streaming series roles, Godoy also appeared in the comedy-horror thriller MexZombies where he took on the character of Tavo.
Mackenyu
Mackenyu Maeda, born on November 16, 1996, is a Japanese actor who goes by the professional name Mackenyu. He is the son of the renowned actor and martial artist, Sonny Chiba. One Piece is not Mackenyu’s first live-action anime adaptation. Prior to portraying the “pirate hunter” Roronoa Zoro Mackenyu gained widespread recognition by taking on the role of Arata Wataya in the Chihayafuru live-action trilogy. Mackenyu has continued to make his mark by portraying several other characters in various adaptations of popular manga series. Notable roles include his appearance in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable as Okuyasu Nijimura, Full Metal Alchemist as Scar, Sōta in Tokyo Ghoul S, Kazuya “Tōji” Tōjigamori in Peach Girl, Yukishiro Enishi in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, and taking on the lead role of Pegasus Seiya in Knights of the Zodiac.
Emily Rudd
Emily Ellen Rudd, an American actress born on February 24, 1993, takes on the role of Nami, the navigator and expert cat burglar of the Straw Hat Pirates, in the One Piece live-action series.In 2018, she appeared in the Amazon anthology series The Romanoffs and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams. Rudd’s filmography career extends into the horor genre where she played dual roles as Cindy Berman and Abigail in Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666. Additionally, that same year, Emily secured a recurring role in Hunters and graced the screen in the romantic comedy science fiction film Moonshot.
Jacob Romero
Jacob Romero Gibson, an actor born on July 11, 1996, Jamaican-born American, skillfully embodies the role of Ussop, the sharpshooter of the Straw Hat Pirates, in the One Piece live-action adaptation. Before setting sail with the Straw Hat crew, Gibson portrayed AJ Delajae, for a total of 15 episodes in the television series Greenleaf. Prior to this significant role, Gibson made various appearances in popular television dramas, such as GI, All Rise, and The Resident. Recently, Gibson’s talent can be seen in Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t comedy-drama series where he takes on the role of Lord AK.
Taz Skylar
Taz Skylar, born on December 5, 1995, in Spain, is the talented actor responsible for bringing to life Sanji, the flirtatious chef of the Straw Hat Pirates. In addition to acting,, Skylar is also an Olivier Award-Nominated Writer and Producer. His journey in the entertainment industry began in the United Kingdom, where he initially took on various smaller roles. In 2015, Skylar showcased his talent in short films such as Venom, Beautiful, and Trophy followed by his role as Caps in The Reserves from 2018 to 2019, a project he also wrote and produced. Skylar expanded his career in 2018 when he made his directorial debut with the short film Multi-Facial. Then in 2019 he made his feature film debut in The Kill Team, where he portrayed Sergeant Dawes. In that same year, he took on the roles of Marty in Lie Low and Betim in the short film Final Gift. Skylar’s momentum continued into 2020, where he played Jason in Villain. In 2022, Following this, Skylar appeared as Walt in an episode of The Lazarus Project.
A big part of the One Piece live-action series success comes from the casts’ impressive acting prowess and ability to bring the beloved Straw Hat crew to life. Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero, and Taz Skylar standout performances, have left audiences, myself included, even more excited to see where their careers will take them next.
One Piece is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
