Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is one of the most iconic and entertaining stories ever. Starting off as a manga series in 1997, the franchise has evolved to incorporate anime, video games, card games, TV, film, and now finally, a live-action series that will be released on Netflix very, very soon.
Starring in the lead role we have Iñaki Godoy who plays the role of Luffy, the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates. And from what we have seen of the series so far, it seems like they struck gold with Iñaki Godoy. Prior to hiring the Mexican actor, Eiichiro Oda was, rightfully, worried if they were ever going to find someone who could do justice to his character. Luckily, his fears turned to dust when he saw Iñaki Godoy’s audition tape.
How Iñaki Godoy Put a Rest to Eiichiro Oda’s Worries
Adapting anime into live-action is not an easy task as the two are poles apart. More often than not, live-action adaptations of anime fail to impress the audience as was seen in the case of Death Note and Bleach. The one area where adaptations often fail is the casting but luckily, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece seems to have avoided that curse.
Oda once wrote that there would be no compromises made when it comes to Netflix’s One Piece and it looks like he was talking about the casting of Iñaki Godoy as well. Godoy just might be the perfect actor they could’ve cast to play Luffy and Oda agrees. In a video uploaded to Netflix’s YouTube channel, Godoy pays a visit to Oda’s full-of-life studio where the two discuss the show, all while the creator’s face is covered.
Talking about the relief he felt upon seeing Godoy’s audition, Oda stated,
“My biggest worry about the live-action was whether we would be able to find someone like Luffy. But I was watching various audition tapes, and when I saw you, I kind of started laughing. You’re just like the character I draw in the manga. I intuitively thought, ‘This is Luffy.'”
Godoy replied stating that he believed the role was “meant to be for him” as he had wanted to play Luffy for a very long time. Later in the video, Oda added,
“I’m so grateful that you were born to be just like Luffy. I think your energy as Luffy is going to be contagious.”
While there are still a few days left to go before One Piece releases on Netflix, we might have to agree with Oda on this one, at least for now.
Iñaki Godoy Talks about Auditioning For Luffy
Given One Piece’s popularity, there is no doubt to the fact that many actors would have aspired to be the ones bringing Luffy to life. So what made Godoy stand out from the rest? What was it that the actor did that he managed to steal everyone’s hearts and bag the role for himself? Well, it was all in the smile.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Godoy stated,
I realized that the main thing about Luffy was his smile. So I thought to myself if I can have that smile in my audition, I think I have a good shot at making this character. And hey, I think it worked!”
When asked why he thought Oda chose him, he stated that the creator told him that it had a lot to do with Godoy making him laugh during the audition. We cannot wait to see how the series turns out!
One Piece comes to Netflix on August, 31.
Source: YouTube | Netflix
