We spoke with Julia Rehwald about bringing the world of One Piece to life in Season 2 and the challenge of translating the anime’s bright, over the top energy into live action. Rehwald shared how the cast and creative team worked to capture the humor and tone fans love while making sure it still felt natural on screen.
Season 2 of One Piece continues the live action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga, following Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they set out on their next adventure across the Grand Line.
Tesia Kuh: What was your reaction to getting the role of “Tashigi?”
Julia Rehwald: It didn’t feel real to me for the longest time. I think it didn’t feel real to me until I showed up in Cape Town for filming. It was surreal because I had sent a self-tape and then I had like a Zoom call back. They called me like the next day or two. I almost didn’t pick up the call from my team. They’re either telling me I got it or I didn’t. And if I didn’t, I’m going to be so devastated.
TK: Were you a fan of the anime or manga?
JR: Yeah, I was a fan of the anime when I was young as a kid, but I haven’t kept up with it in my adult years. So I’m very behind. But because of that, it felt very nostalgic to me when I’d remembered everything that I’d seen when I was young. it sort of is a lot of what season one covered and season two and three.
TK: Did you feel any pressure when joining the project?
JR: As a fan you can see how crazy about this show everyone is When I was watching season one I got to experience that as just someone who is familiar with the material watching the show So coming into season two, it was sort of being on the other side of that now. And you don’t want to let anyone down and you want to do your best. You want to really respect the source material- fan reactions to things online and all of that. You see how many people interact with the teasers and the trailers and any bit of news and it’s like reminders of how massive one piece is which it just is blows my mind every time.
TK: What challenges stood out to you during filming?
JR: in terms of like doing a live action adaptation some of it was trying to nail the tone and the humor in a way that was still wacky and zany but doesn read as too clownish for a live action show and how to have that sort of bright cartoon energy in a way that feels natural. It takes a little kind of figuring out, but usually your gut impulse is right. And if they’re like, you could give me more, then we go for it the next time. That was sort of the thing that I definitely wanted to figure out.
TK: What cultural influences from your background has shaped the way you approach your work?
JR: Growing up Filipino singing and dancing was always part of how I’d experienced storytelling and arts as someone who just did theater growing up but also in with my family and cultural events. It probably weirdly enough ties into my approach as an actor which is always very physical based. What I’m doing with my body is always very important to me in terms of a character. With Tashigi, at least there was a different vocal quality that she has that is different from me and I think using my voice and my body is something that I always grown up doing and I think feeds into the way I build a character. I’ll look at it and or people will tell me and I’m like, that is true. I see that that that’s happening, but it’s not like I’m making conscious decisions of, okay, she’s going to sound different from me like this. But I guess it’s sort of just always a tool that I’ve been using.
TK: What is the One Piece?
JR: I wish I knew! Eventually I will catch up on the manga up to where we are now because from what I see online every now and then it feels like we’re inching closer to finding out what the “one piece” is. And I know that when that does come out, I don’t want to just find out from like an online spoiler. I want to catch up for that reveal for the end game and actually be there to find out because I’ve got no clue.
