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When Matt Owens told Emily Rudd he was going to bring One Piece, the best-selling Japanese manga series by Eiichiro Oda, to Netflix, her response was pure disbelief. “I was like, ‘Whoa, that one?! That’s the scariest one to make into a live-action,'” she tells me over Zoom from her Cape Town, South Africa, apartment, where she’s currently filming the show’s third season. Though Rudd has been an avid anime and manga consumer since her youth, One Piece was always her Everest. Starting anything with over 100 volumes published and 1155 episodes is, well, intimidating, to put it mildly. Watching the anime, let alone creating a live-action version, seemed like an impossible task to Rudd, but at Owens’s behest, she finally pressed play on the series, changing her life forever.
To no one’s surprise, One Piece is a massive success for Netflix, and for Rudd—who plays Nami, the fiercely independent, flame-haired navigator of the Straw Hat Crew—it has been a series of “pinch me” moments. As the highly anticipated second season racks up views (16.8 million in its first weekend, to be precise) and following all-star cast additions (including fan-favorite Chopper and David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3), production is already underway on season 3 with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Rudd, hardly recognizable without her orange wig and signature Nami blue-and-white baseball tee, joins our call after a full day of shooting to discuss Nami wardrobe Easter eggs, feeling seen by stylist Enrique Melendez, and the cinematic gold that is Treasure Planet.
How is life in Cape Town?
It’s so good. This is my third season down here, so it feels very much like a second home. [During] season 1, it was brand-new, and we were going out and meeting locals and hiking Lion’s Head. Last season, I was just wiped. I was like a full hermit, homebody. And now, we found a balance where I’m like, “What if I just live my normal life that I would live anywhere else?” I’m doing pottery on the weekends, and I go bouldering. There’s a couple indoor bouldering gyms that I like to visit. I go to the local farmers market. It’s very chill.
Since we did not get to chat for season 1, I want to take it back to the beginning for a moment. I read you were a fan of the original One Piece manga and anime series on which the show is based. How did you get introduced to One Piece originally?
I grew up watching anime. I have my older brother Daniel, and it was very little sister vibes. I would do whatever he did or watch whatever he watched, so we started watching anime. Pokemon was on all the time. Also Digimon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z. So we were watching that together and stuck with it. One Piece is massive. It’s extremely legendary. I think anybody who knows and watches anime or reads manga knows about One Piece, and usually, the major deterrent is that it’s an extremely long manga and anime series. That was what was holding me back. I did Hunter x Hunter, and that’s like six or seven seasons, so I was like, “Okay, I can do a long anime, but I don’t know if I can do One Piece.” And then I was introduced by our season 1 showrunner Matt Owens. We were connected via our mutual agency at the time, and they were like, “Hey, you guys are nerds. You should talk to each other.”
He was like, “I’m gonna bring One Piece to Netflix,” and I was like, “Whoa, that one? That’s the scariest one to make into a live-action.” He was like, “You should really watch it.” And I was like, “Okay, I’ll watch it.” I loved it. It’s an absolutely remarkable story. There’s a reason why it’s the longest-running anime and longest series. I got locked in, and then a handful of years later, they finally rolled out auditions, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to audition. It was a couple months, and I was waiting, hoping, and then I got a call, and they were like, “You got it off of the one tape.” I don’t even know how many countries they searched. It was such a widespread audition. I’m very lucky to have had them say yes.
When you were watching the show, did you envision yourself as Nami specifically or any of the other characters?
I think it was Nami. It was our season 1, or the East Blue Saga in the anime and manga. Her moment where she asks for help was the moment that really locked me into the series. I remember seeing it for the first time and just crying. That moment, for me, was like, “Man, if I could have one shot, I would just like one shot at playing Nami.”
Nami is a character that came quite naturally to you. In what ways could you connect with her early on?
Having the experience with the anime and manga and understanding the story as a whole. Usually, you get handed a script, and it’s original, so you have to break it down. … What is the story? What is the character? Who are they? What’s their background? Whereas, because of Oda’s work, that’s already given to us as actors, so you have all of this info already provided for you. Already knowing that, it was like, “Okay, I understand her. All I have to do is just show up and be that.” And of course, you leave a little bit of room for play. That’s the nature of translating something from animated manga to live-action. It’s not going to be a one-to-one, and I’m my own person. With a lot of actors, there’s always a little bit of them within the characters that they play. Our writers are so talented, and they really paid attention to the source material, and it just felt like on the page she was there, and I just had to say the words.
What do you remember about putting on her wig for the first time?
Season 1, we had a whole camera-test day, and it was our first time all being together in full costume. We were taking solo photos, and they’re having us walk through some of the sets that they built to show the Netflix executives and Oda-Sensei this is how it’s looking and this is the vibe that we’re creating. I just remember putting the costume on and having the wig on and the makeup, and I [was] like, “I can’t believe this is real.” When I’m walking up to my trailer for the first time and it says “Nami” on the nameplate, I’m just like, “What is going on?!” It was such a “pinch me” moment, and I still have those. We’re on season 3 now, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop pinching myself as long as I do this job.
Getting to play a character over multiple seasons means you get to grow and evolve with them. What has been your favorite aspect of that with Nami going from season 1 to season 2? And season 2 to 3 even?
There’s a couple elements that I’m really excited about as far as growing with this character. With the live-action adaptation, I was able to play the hardships that she experienced in season 1 a little bit more forwardly than something that is animated does. She’s very light and playful, and she doesn’t really allude too much to what’s going on in her personal life, whereas we wanted to have her be a little more standoffish and a little more reserved [in the show].
With season 2, it was really exciting to be able to be like, “Okay, she’s with these people that she knows and loves and trusts, so she gets to relax. She gets to finally be herself.” To have that growth was really fun, but also, as an actor and working with a lot of the same people (we work with basically the same crew, same production, everything like that), you have these people that you as an actor really trust and can really rely upon. And they feel the same way about you, so they’re asking your opinion on things like, How do you feel about this costume, and are you okay with saying this, or do you want to say something a little bit different? I would start changing words around a little bit if it felt more comfortable or if it felt more Nami. There was just a lot more room for play across the board and just a mutual trust—not just within the characters and who they are on-screen but also between the cast and the crew and everyone who makes this show.
What character and/or actor were you most excited to see join the crew in season 2?
Obviously, Chopper is a huge fave, but I was absolutely bowled over when I was told that we got my now dear friend David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3. I was like, “What do you mean? We got him? How did we get David Dastmalchian?” He’s an absolutely incredible actor. He’s so good. He’s so singular in everything that he does. Both of his kids are huge fans, and because they were fans, he became a fan too. We have so many people joining or that have joined for season 2 where it’s like, “How do we get these people?” But that’s the power of One Piece. It’s beloved by so many people, and it’s not always the people who are loud about it. A lot of people that have joined in season 2 and now season 3 are people who have always loved this story.
Visually, the show is so fun. Each of the characters has their own distinct style and look. What excited you about Nami’s look in particular and working with the costume team to bring that to life?
Nami’s looks are so iconic. She’s the only girl in the crew, at least in season 1. In my day-to-day life, I don’t dress very feminine. I often joke that I dress like a 12-year-old boy, which I love. But it was so fun to really lean into the feminine and to wear the miniskirts. She has so many iconic looks in the anime and manga, but also, our costume designer, Kerry-Anne [Barnard], pulled looks in from Color Walks or other drawings that Oda has made that are separate from the original source material. We get to not only have the looks that people are extremely familiar with but also these sleeper hits where people are pulling screen grabs or shots of the chapter drawings, and they’re like, “Look, it’s this look from here and from this chapter,” and then they’re piecing it all together. Nami is the fashion girl. She’s serving the looks. All of the fashion for her is getting better and better.
It’s so cool to have those Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans. Are there any pieces you know fans were really excited about?
Kerry-Anne, our costume designer, did an interview and talked about me wearing the miniskirt in episode 2, where we had a lot of night shoots, and it was freezing cold. We already changed the tank top into a long-sleeve so I could wear a thermal underneath to try and keep my core temp up. But she was like, “What do you think about maybe changing into pants or something like that?” And I was like, “My queen. We cannot change this miniskirt. We have to keep this miniskirt.” The fans love that. They want to see things that are manga and anime accurate.
Oh! The outfit that I wear in our final episode, it’s the white T-shirt with the floral blue skirt. That’s not in the anime or manga. That’s a Color Walk look. I think I saw yesterday or the day before somebody on Twitter made the connection. It’s really cool.
For season 2 press, you worked with Enrique Melendez for styling, who also works with Jenna Ortega. How did that partnership come about?
Oh man, Enrique is my king. I’m so happy to be working with him. I think he’s one of the best at what he does. We had a meeting back in October maybe because there were some things that were happening the following month, and we were exploring working together. But we were doing stuff down here in Cape Town, so the logistics of it were a little wonky. I remember talking to my PR gals, Stephanie and Lauren, being like, “I really hope he is still keen to work with me because I just want to work with him so bad.” And they’re like, “He genuinely wants to work with you.” When this press run came around, I was like, “We got to get Enrique. Is he available, please?” I think he’s got an incredible eye. The work that he has done with all of his clients… You brought up Jenna as the best example. She has such a specific aesthetic, and you can really tell that he understands not just how she wants to look on the outside but also who she is on the inside. I think every look that she has is a window into a part of her. That was something that really drew me to him because… Maybe it’s the actor in me. I’m desperate for people to just understand me.
Luckily, at our first fitting together, he pulled so many amazing pieces, and there was a pretty wide range. Honestly, the first look that we put on was the look that I ended up wearing to the Los Angeles premiere, and I was like, “Enrique, this is remarkable. This is the coolest look I’ve ever worn.” By the third or fourth outfit that we tried on, he was like, “Okay, I get you.” From there, it’s just smooth sailing. He just gets it, and we vibed immediately, and I just feel so seen from him. If you’re being seen by other people, you want to be dressed by somebody who sees you, and I really feel like he does that.
The response to the show is incredible. Did you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders going into season 2?
Yes and no. I think we were all really proud of the work that we did [with season 1], and we loved it. We knew that we did the best that we could do, and we honored the source material as best we could. There’s still the pressure of like, Are fans gonna respond to it? Are they gonna absolutely wreck us? And they were so warm and welcoming. With season 2, it was like, “We’ve got the support of the fans, and we’ve had the support of Oda-Sensei from day one before any of us were signed on.” It’s really just like, Can we do it at least as good as season 1? Ideally, we do better, but once I read through all the scripts, I was like, “Oh, we’re good.” And it’s the same with season 3. I think it’s exponential at this point, which is really insane because this is not an easy project to do, and we have the best people working on it.
What can we expect from season 3?
Like I said, it’s exponential. I think season 2 was better than season 1. I think season 3 is going to be better than season 2. It’s going to be different. The vibe might be a little more grounded. We’re not exploring as many islands as we did in season 2, but I think there’s still a lot of that fun and that play and that wackiness that is so true to what One Piece is, but there’s a lot of things that I think will resonate with people as far as what human beings are experiencing today in the world, in politics, in human experiences. It’s going to be a fun way for people to explore their lives through this show in a way that they haven’t in the last two seasons.
One Piece is this generation’s beloved pirate action-adventure series. What were the pirate films that resonated with you growing up?
Everybody has to love Pirates of the Caribbean. You have to sit down and have a little marathon with them. I loved Muppet Treasure Island. I think it was so good. Treasure Planet? I know it’s not your traditional pirate movie. I think that’s one people sleep on. I’ve always been drawn to the adventurous spirit that pirates have, so I think it’s cool that we get to play into that in a more unique way than we’ve seen in live-action.
Outside of One Piece, you have the film Whalefall later this year. What can you tell us about that project and what it meant to you to be a part of it?
I was lucky enough to be a part of Whalefall, which is written and directed by my friend Brian Duffield. We filmed a pilot together … around 2017, and we hadn’t worked together since but obviously stayed in touch. He reached out to me in May of last year and said, “Hey, I’ve got this project I’m working on, and I think there’s a role that you would be really good for.” He sent me the script, and it’s this story that is ultimately dealing with grief and the loss of a father. I had only a couple months prior lost my father, so it felt like the universe was handing me something to help me move forward through my grief. As I imagine most people do when you lose someone that you love so dearly, you’re almost floundering, and it’s like, How do I move on? How can I start to be okay?
To be given a role that allowed me to explore that in a way that my character in that film wasn’t dealing with the loss in the same way that I was with my own loss, to step outside of it, and to see it in a new way and to work through it with these other incredible actors… I mean, Jane [Levy], Elisabeth [Shue], the girls were wonderful to work with. Austin [Abrams] and Josh [Brolin] were incredible too. I felt like I was just happy to be in the same room as them. It was a very special project, and I’m just so excited to see it. I’m excited for other people to see it. It’s gonna be really cool and really unique. It’s a very unique way to explore grief.
One Piece season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
Photographer: Christian Högstedt
Stylist: Enrique Melendez
Hairstylist: Xavier Velasquez
Makeup Artist: Lisa Aharon
Manicurist: Natalie Minerva
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