The live-action adaptation of the most popular and beloved manga/anime has commenced on a positive note, debuting on the platform accompanied by enthusiastic reviews.
Following a streak of unsuccessful live adaptations by Netflix, One Piece appears to blow out the trend. Primarily due to its screenplay and “killer cast,” which has received the most admiration.
The cast is the core crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, comprising Luffy, the captain with rubber abilities, Zoro the swordsman, Usopp the marksman, Sanji the chef, and Nami the skilled navigator. Accurately portraying these characters was of utmost importance as the series embarked on its live-action debut.
According to one of the show’s directors, Emily Rudd as Nami is the most important casting in the One Piece live-action series.
Emily Rudd is Perfect as Nami
When questioned about Emily Rudd‘s dedicated efforts to secure the role of Nami, the director Marc Jobst commended her capability to set aside her fandom and focus on “working at the moment.”
He reminisced about how selecting the actor for the Nami role was particularly crucial within the ensemble of the show. Jobst explained:
That’s a really interesting question. Emily works in the moment, so I never felt like she was bringing baggage into the room. I only ever felt that she was always responding in the moment, and that is the greatest gift you can have as a director is when you have an actor who steps into a scene with another actor, and listens and responds, but doesn’t say, “Oh, I don’t think Luffy would do that, or Sanji would never.” They’re just in the moment and responding to it, so I never know if she even had preparation for the scenes that she was doing.
In the interview, he also praised Emily Rudd as an enchantress and she is the best for Nami’s character. He says:
The other lovely thing about Emily is she’s beautiful, obviously, and Nami is a beautiful character, but she has so much depth to her being. We were really keen that all our actors weren’t just beautiful, we weren’t really after that, we were after beautiful spirits.
And that is the greatest gift you can have as a director is when you have an actor who steps into a scene with another actor, and listens and responds, but doesn’t say, ‘Oh, I don’t think Luffy would do that, or Sanji would never.’ They’re just in the moment and responding to it, so I never know if she even had preparation for the scenes that she was doing.
He further added that this level of “depth” is something that cannot be artificially manufactured on screen. Instead, it’s an intangible quality that the screen itself recognizes. According to him, precisely it was exceedingly crucial to cast someone with genuine depth for the role of Nami.
Emily Rudd has “Depth” for the Portrayal of Nami
It has been explicitly conveyed in the lead-up to Netflix’s One Piece that this series is ‘by fans and for fans.’ This sentiment extends to the selection of the show’s cast as well.
Actress Emily Rudd is herself a die-hard fan of One Piece anime and manga. She was quite candid about her role as Nami and recently unveiled her ‘not so secret’ plan to convince the crew behind the series to cast her.
During a conversation about her work, she stated that there are some arcs she couldn’t wait to see in the show, whereas in some she was really nervous to perform because they mean so much to her.
It is good to hear that the actress has depth in her work and was specifically looked at when it came to casting her as well. Although Nami’s character might appear unassuming from an external perspective, she stands as one of the most crucial parts of the One Piece story.
As the series progresses with these pivotal One Piece characters, including Nami, their vibrant personalities gradually unveil profound and relatable angles that fans can genuinely connect with.
Optimistically, Netflix’s adaptation of the series will receive approval for a second season, allowing for further exploration of Emily Rudd’s portrayal as Nami and the character’s development moving forward.
Source: Screen Rant
