Taz Skylar spent four months learning to kick people in the head before he ever set foot on the One Piece set. This wasn’t standard actor preparation—this was survival. Sanji, the character Skylar plays, fights exclusively with his legs to protect his hands for cooking. This means every fight scene requires complex martial arts choreography, and Skylar was determined to do as much as possible himself.
“I would just be: wake up, either kick, then cook, or cook, then kick, then go do Hamlet at the Young Vic,” Skylar recalls of his pre-production routine. He trained with taekwondo specialists, MMA fighters, and a chef who had worked under Jamie Oliver. On matinee days, he’d cook for his castmates. This is the level of commitment that separates good adaptations from great ones, and Skylar’s Sanji is undeniably great.
Sanji is the Straw Hat Pirates’ chef, a former sous-chef at the floating restaurant Baratie who dreams of finding the All Blue—a legendary sea containing ingredients from all four oceans. He’s also a hopeless flirt, a fierce fighter, and a young man carrying significant trauma. Skylar plays all of these elements without letting any single one dominate. His Sanji is charming but not creepy, skilled but not invincible, confident but not arrogant.
The character’s backstory is brutal: as a child, Sanji cooked to care for his sick mother; after her death, he was stranded on a rock for 85 days with a pirate chef who cut off his own leg to survive and gave all the food to Sanji. This experience shaped Sanji’s core belief—that no one should ever go hungry, and that a chef’s hands are sacred. Skylar conveys this history through posture and gesture, the way Sanji moves in a kitchen versus how he moves in a fight.
Showrunner Steven Maeda admits they “didn’t quite know what they were looking for” when casting Sanji. Then they saw Skylar’s audition. “He really has a depth and warmth to his personality,” Maeda notes. “Taz has the biggest heart in the world, and so we thought that was a wonderful thing to bring to Sanji’s character.” This warmth is crucial—Sanji could easily become a caricature of the lecherous chef, but Skylar grounds him in genuine kindness.
The fight scenes are where Skylar’s preparation pays off. Sanji’s “Black Leg Style” involves acrobatic kicks that would be impossible for most actors to perform practically, but Skylar handles the choreography with grace. The Season 2 fight against Wapol’s forces on Drum Island showcases this perfectly—Sanji launching himself through the air, delivering devastating kicks, all while protecting his hands.
Skylar’s Sanji also develops a significant bond with Nami in Season 2, caring for her when she falls ill on Drum Island. These quieter moments reveal the character’s depth, and Skylar plays them with the same commitment he brings to action sequences. By the end of Season 2, Sanji has found his place in the crew, his purpose in their journey, and his family among the Straw Hats.
Stream One Piece Seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix to watch Taz Skylar bring Sanji to life—kicks, cooking, and all.
Also Read: Emily Rudd Stars As Nami In One Piece