The live-action adaptation of ONE PIECE hit the seas one week ago and sailed straight to the top of the English TV list, plundering an impressive 18.5 million views in just four days of release. The series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries and debuted at No. 1 in 46. Based on Japan’s bestselling manga series in history, which has sold more than 500 million copies globally, the adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s sprawling tale currently has one of Netflix’s highest audiences scores ever.

But before Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) could sail across the East Blue to search for the mysterious One Piece treasure, he had to assemble his very own pirate gang for the adventure. And much like the young pirate captain in ONE PIECE, showrunners Matt Owens and Steve Maeda had to find their own crew of actors who’d be able to bring the same spirit of Eiichiro Oda’s manga and anime characters to life in the live-action adaptation. 

“The phenomenal talent that exists and has gone into this show has brought these characters to life in a way that is both familiar and new,” Owens told Netflix during production. “Walking into a new set and seeing a new actor embodying another ONE PIECE character — it’s a dream every single day.”

For the cast, becoming a Straw Hat meant more than just slipping into a costume. With a loyal fandom and franchise going on for 26 years, getting into character was a responsibility they didn’t take lightly. Whether it was piercing their ears or chopping onions at a restaurant, each cast member found creative ways to truly embody their role.  

And their dedication is paying off. The show’s Tiktok page grew from zero to 630,000 followers in just 2 weeks and the title pages on social media have gained over 1 million followers post launch. More than 10 videos on Instagram and TikTok have over 2 million views.

Read on to learn more about the actors behind your favorite Straw Hat characters.

Iñaki Godoy

Who you play: Monkey D. Luffy

What’s he like? Luffy is a big dreamer. He is a super cheerful guy, full of joy. He wants to live big adventures, find the One Piece, and become the King of the Pirates. He is a great friend and he will fight for you and your dreams.

Why you love playing Luffy: Luffy has to be one of the most interesting characters that I’ve ever had the opportunity to play. He’s so cheerful, loves adventure, and he’s a little bit crazy. And oh my gosh, the eating scenes! Don’t get me started on that. That’s so much fun. He’s a big dreamer and I find a lot of Luffy in me too. I think we both share a lot of the same values and it’s been such a ride to play him. 

Describe your character in 10 words or less: Straw Hat, future, King of the Pirates — the stretchy kind.

The first thing you geeked out over: The first thing I really geeked out about was video games. I love Mario Bros. and Zelda. Growing up, those were my two heroes: Link and Mario. I just have so many amazing memories from playing video games. It was a way to explore different worlds and I got to use my imagination a lot. 

Mackenyu

Who you play: Roronoa Zoro

What’s he like? Zoro is calm and reserved, but has an air of confidence.

Why you love playing Zoro: I have filmed so many anime adaptations in Japan and always feel the pressure when doing live-action manga. But, I want to do my best to please the fans and those who will first experience ONE PIECE as live-action. I grew up with ONE PIECE and I didn’t need to do much research because Zoro has always been my favorite character.

Describe your character in 10 words or less: Green hair, three swords — holds one in his mouth.

Name one thing you did to get into character: [The ear piercings] were painful, but for Zoro, I’d do anything. As for the hair, it’s my natural green hair — what are you talking about?

Emily Rudd

Who you play: Nami

What’s she like? : [Nami] is the cool, calm, collected cat burglar of the group. She’s been thieving her entire life, and you eventually come to know that it was mostly out of necessity and not by choice. And she is the ultimate con artist. She can get anything she wants by any means.

Why you love playing Nami: I’ve actually been an anime fan for the majority of my life, and have always known about ONE PIECE. [Nami]’s so clever and I love that about her. She is also a pro at the Bo Staff, and that’s something that you see a lot in the anime, but we wanted to bring more of into the live-action series because it’s just cool. I actually grew up doing karate and I did Bo Staff when I was in it. It’s been years since I got my black belt, so it is very, very dusty — but, it was so exciting to kind of brush away all of that and pick it back up again.

Describe your character in 10 words or less: Clever navigator with a few secrets and a Bo Staff.

How anime has influenced you today: I grew up on Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!. I saw Spirited Away in theaters when it came out here in the States. All of the anime stuff made me into who I am, 100%. Sailor Moon? I made my parents rent the Sailor Moon movie all the time and they were so sick of it, but I was like “Oh my gosh, women are so cool and so powerful and they can do anything.” 

Jacob Romero

Who you play: Usopp

What’s he like? Usopp is the sniper, the marksman, the storyteller, the inventor. He also is the one that takes care of the Going Merry. 

Why you love playing Usopp: I think he’s the realest. You know, when everyone else is like, “Let’s run into a burning building,” Usopp is like, “Okay, but it’s on fire, you know?” [Laughs.] So he’s, like, the voice of reason sometimes, and uses his storytelling to lift everybody up. I think that’s his medicine.

Describe your character in 10 words or less: The legendary sharpshooter with a tendency to stretch the truth.

Favorite part about the ONE PIECE set: There’s no way I could have imagined the scale and the detail that the sets have. It’s just so amazing to actually be able to reach out and touch these things. Most of the time, on something in a world this big, there’s a lot of special effects. But here on ONE PIECE, you really have a cannonball coming at you. You really get to interact with the set in a way that really helps bring it all to life, and it’s absolutely amazing.

Taz Skylar

Who you play: Sanji

Why you love playing Sanji: I found a stuntman who’s a red belt in tae kwon do. He would come visit me in a park or I would go to a gym near his house. I trained with him for like three hours a day. Then there was a chef who trained under Jamie Oliver –– I’d go to his [place]. He had a few restaurants around London, so I’d dart around and go spend time in the restaurants with him. He’d just give me a bag of onions or peppers and I would just sit there and chop for three hours.

What’s your favorite fight scene: My favorite fight scene is probably the opening one, the first time that you meet Sanji when he’s carrying a plate. This is the first time you meet him and it has to be special, but it also has to be really quick. So, what we arrived at was the most quintessential thing he can possibly do: just fight people whilst keeping a plate of food level. 

Describe your character in 10 words or less: Damn good cook, well dressed, only fights with his feet.

The first time you heard about ONE PIECE: They used to have [ONE PIECE] on Spanish TV, so I watched the Spanish dub when I was little. My little brother and my best friend watch it as well, so we had lots of nerdy chats about it.

Stream ONE PIECE on Netflix now.