ONE PIECE Producers Talk About Looking For The Right Actor To Play Monkey D. Luffy

Iñaki Godoy, the actor cast in the role of Monkey D. Luffy in Netflix’s live-action One Piece series, is absolutely perfect in the role! He is awesome as this character and wonderfully brings the character to life in a way that makes all the fans happy. This kid IS Luffy! The way he plays the character simply brings a smile to my face.

One Piece executive producers, Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements, recently talked to Deadline about the series, and when talking about casting for the series, Clements specifically talked about casting the right actor to play Luffy:

“We knew that finding Luffy was the most critical part of probably the whole show, someone who, when they smile, it lights up the screen the way it does in the manga and the anime. That was probably the part that we were most concerned about because he is the cornerstone of the entire spirit of the show. And when we saw Iñaki, it was unanimous. He has, as a human, this great spirit, this enthusiasm the way he approached the role. Once we got Iñaki, we could breathe. And he just pulled it off.

“Obviously acting skill is important but [the lead cast] all embodied what we wanted to do with the live-action version of these characters. Mackenyu, who is just a giant talent and hugely famous in Japan. It’s a big role to take on the character of Zoro, and he has such a magnetic presence and is such a phenomenal martial artist and fighter.

“Showrunner-creator Matt Owens has known Emily Rudd for years, and she’s a big anime fan. Emily was really our first person where he said, ‘I think Emily would be a great Nami’, and we said, ‘Oh, absolutely.’ Each of these actors live their lives in a very direct, present, interesting way. And they are supremely close, they spend a lot of time together in South Africa and they travel around the world and so to us that that was so validating.”

Clements goes on to reveal that when they were looking for Luffy, they saw over 100 actors from all over the world. She explained that while they were doing that, they “really tried to stay true to the backstory. the origin of all the characters that Oda created; we were focused on supporting that.”

The producer was then asked what Iñaki’s reaction was when they told him that he got the role, and she said:

“I believe he screamed, he definitely laughed. He was on Zoom with us, he thanked everyone, he said he will give it his all. And then when we said, how is your family feeling about this and do your parents have any questions about production — because I think he was just 18, he was very young when he got the role — at that moment, he pulled his mother into the frame of the Zoom and said, Well, my mom’s right here, she can ask questions. And we just knew at that moment, what a great young man to have his parents sitting right next to him after he got the good news.”

Well, they certainly cast the right guy for the role! I’m not sure anyone else would’ve been able to effectively pull off what he brought to the role. The actor previously talked about the pressure of making a great One Piece series, saying:

“Of course! Of course! Of course there was a lot of pressure. There is a big responsibility to honor the work of more than 20 years of a man, you know? He's been writing this since he was 17. Not only just honor Mr. Oda, but honor the anime too. Mayumi Tanaka, she has been performing this character for so long. And the way they've been doing the anime for so long too, and there are so many people who have grown up with Luffy, and the Straw Hats and the world of One Piece. So you want to respect that, and you want to honor that.

“But if there's one thing that I have learned from One Piece, it's that even though things are challenging, you have to find a way to have fun. So yeah, there was a lot of pressure, there was a lot of anxieties, but there was also a lot of fun! And there was a lot of love. And just like any adventure, it was exciting. You know, I was so excited to get to be a part of something this massive and so incredible, and it's an exciting adventure.”

Godoy went on to talk about his character, and how he sees the character. He certainly proves that he has an understanding of who Luffy is, saying:

“I think Luffy is a very kind person. And he also encourages people to follow their dreams. He doesn't want to change anyone. He just wants to enjoy life, and he will respect whatever you want to do as long as it doesn't get in the way of anybody's freedom. He encourages freedom, he's a free person himself. I think that attracts people, because we all want freedom, right? We all need that. And he has a really beautiful smile.”

One of the main reasons that this One Piece series works so well is because of Godoy. He’s the rug that ties the room together, and the creative team is lucky that they’ve got him!