One Piece is a fantasy adventure comedy manga and anime franchise that is popular all over the world, and is also the longest running comic/manga series in the world by a single author, Eiichiro Oda, which was ratified by Guinness World Records. Given this success, it was only a matter of time before a live action adaptation came knocking, despite anime adaptations not really working out in the past.
Creating a live action series like One Piece is much harder than creating an anime adaptation or a manga in many ways. That’s because there are limits to what people can do even with the aid of special effects, not to mention creative challenges such as capturing the essence of the show. One of the main characters of the show, Sanji, is known for fighting only using his legs, which was how Eiichiro Oda envisioned him and he wanted to it to stay that way. Taz Skylar, Sanji’s actor, happily obliged.
What did Sanji’s actor Taz Skylar say about his training?
Taz Skylar had to go through a brutal and highly difficult training regimen to perform the stunts for Sanji, which he insisted he would himself as much as possible. The chef in One Piece is known for not using his hands in combat so that he doesn’t injure them, which would get in the way of his cooking. Skylar said in an interview with Gamesradar:
“I did absolutely every single one of my own kicks in the show. There is no CGI on my leg, and my stunt double was my trainer, and was very enthusiastically cheering me from the side. He was with me throughout every step of it, and I had various other trainers.”
Expanding on exactly how much he had to train to be able to do a good job portraying the Straw Hat Pirates chef, Skylar said:
“And now when I look back on that journey, when I communicate it to people, sometimes when I say eight hours, people think I’m being figurative, or people think I’m exaggerating or – No, when I say eight hours, it’s one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. As in every single day. I really want that to land because it hurts. [laughs] And it’s not an approximation. Eight hours is, if anything, a round down because sometimes it’d be 10. And it was every single day, seven days a week – I had straps on every single joint on my body. It was the most ridiculous process I’ve ever been through in my life. But! I did do every single kick, and I’m proud of it.”
In a Netflix featurette of One Piece, it was also revealed that the stunt directors and showrunners looked at capoeira, a fusion between fighting and dancing, as well as breakdancing to keep things fresh and interesting throughout the show. During the video, Skylar said:
“My leg can go fully above my head and axe kick down.”
Taz Skylar was understandably very proud of that, especially since he put in the hard yards for the role of Sanji.
How did Taz Skylar define Sanji?
Sanji is one of the core characters of One Piece, making his debut early on, and is defined by his cooking skills, fighting strength despite using only his legs, and his attraction to beautiful women. In his own words, Skylar defined Sanji as:
“Romantic, fierce, caring. Romantic, for the obvious reasons. I think he is a romantic. He romanticizes not just other people, but he romanticizes things. He romanticizes what he does, he romanticizes the world. And he’s fierce because he protects both his care and his romanticizing with what is a very adamant ability to protect him and others. And caring, I think that’s my main word. It’s interesting that I put that one last, because if I get to define him in one word, my one word for him would be that he cares… deeply.”
This care even extends to whatever dish Sanji is currently cooking, Skylar said, and that he will protect it no matter what – whether it be his crewmates or his food or anything else.
Source: Gamesradar, Netflix
