Exclusive: One Piece's Mackenyu on Zoro, 'It was painful in season one'

Mackenyu, the actor who plays Roronoa Zoro in Netflix's live-action One Piece series, opened up about bringing the character to life during an exclusive interview with Gulf News at MEFCC 2026 in Abu Dhabi. From the beginning, Zoro has been Mackenyu's favorite character, a childhood hero who inspired him since he was a kid. Despite that initial admiration, Mackenyu initially found the idea of a live-action Zoro to be riskier than exciting.

The actor admitted that playing Zoro was scary at first and that he struggled with bringing the character to life. The pressure to get Zoro right is made evident in the intense fight scenes, especially the season two sequence where Zoro takes on a hundred bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak. Mackenyu confirmed that the number was accurate, not just for marketing purposes, and explained that the fight sequences were broken up into multiple takes to justify the hundred opponents.

The physical toll of the role is constant, with Zoro's signature three-sword style requiring him to fight with a blade gripped between his teeth. Mackenyu said that he never gets used to the discomfort, which was painful in season one and still painful now. However, the hardest part of the job for Mackenyu is not the physical demands but keeping a straight face.

Zoro is the crew's straight man surrounded by constant chaos, and holding that line is more challenging than anything choreographed. Despite the challenges, Mackenyu emphasized the importance of staying true to the character, whether it's on the page or on screen. He explained that he has to check with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, to ensure the changes he makes to Zoro are acceptable.