Portraying a fantastical character in a live-action series can be a tough job, especially if the character is from one of the biggest anime franchises, like One Piece. It not only requires perfection in terms of emotions and expressions but also requires absolute mastery of physical aspects like battles and fights. However, Taz Skylar somehow managed to get away with it.
The actor was the perfect choice for the role of Vinsmoke Sanji in the One Piece live-action, but the only issue was that he was not as good as Sanji in fights and action sequences. But he never told Netflix about it, as there was a strong possibility that it would have jeopardized the entire production of the live-action.
A few months ago, Skylar confessed in an interview that he was nervous about doing his own stunts. However, ultimately it worked in the favor of the series as the actor made a commitment to go through with it for the entire season, and it motivated him to train for the upcoming seasons as he is ready for the next Straw Hat adventure.
Taz Skylar Was Nervous About Doing His Stunts
In an interview with the British Independent Film Awards, Skylar talked about his commitment to doing his own stunts for the first season of One Piece live-action, even though he had little to no experience. Especially for action sequences that require the use of mostly his legs. The actor was nervous, but he decided to endure it till the end.
Skylar stated:
I was in South Africa shooting for like a whole year, and I’d made a really big point and commitment of doing all the stunts in the show, and we trained for like 8–10 hours a day for like six months before it, and then the sort of as we were doing the stunts, they kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, and I never told anyone that I was nervous about it because if you Flinch, then they take you out of the stunt.
The Sanji actor knew that expressing stress or nervousness while doing even a single stunt could result in him getting out of the stunt and someone else taking his place. Therefore, he decided to train hard for almost six months and made it his goal to go through with it until the filming of the first season was done.
The Most Memorable Moment for Taz Skylar
While talking about his last stunt, Taz Skylar revealed that he got so focused while training and performing his own action scenes and stunts that he didn’t realize when they reached the end of the road. It was his last stunt, and when he was able to do it completely, he got a sense of understanding that he wouldn’t have to perform his stunts again until the second season.
Skylar explained:
By the time we did the last stunt, I didn’t realize it was the last stunt until after it happened. It was like a 20-foot jump on a wire across a pool, and there was like a kick midair, and I landed, and they said cut, and then the guy came over to take the shackles and the wires off of my harness, and he left one of the shackles on there. When I got back to the tent, I remembered taking the shackle off and realizing that that was the last time that I had to do a stunt on the show.
Skylar’s commitment to doing his own stunts even though he had no prior experience helped him realize that he needs to train even harder for the next season and be ready when the production starts.
This is why he has been training ever since, and now that the time has come, he is ready to give his best performance as Sanji for the second season of One Piece live-action, which will probably be released in 2025.
You can watch One Piece live-action on Netflix.
