“I’m fascinated by the figure of a link that requires no change”

There are two big unknowns surrounding the manga One piecethe most successful comic of all time about — including a dirty brochazo in the position of no longer extended — the adventures of a pirate gang led by Luffy ‘Paja’s Sombrero’. The first is the nature of the treasure that the title contains, which only one knows is hidden somewhere in the ocean, and which will lead to the one who places him in the rank of “pirate king”, a title that the young captain desires to become the main hero.

The second, at the end of the story, is the pulpit of its author, Eiichiro Odaof which only photographs survive, most of the early years of manga publishing, to which he devoted his entire career (next year 2027 One piece last 30 years). See above, which appears hidden among the hair mask at the beginning of the offer, is reserved for only a few. Among this group of privileged people we meet a Spaniard.

As regards Taz Skylar (Tenerife, 1995), the actor who plays one of the protagonists of the pirate gang in the adaptation of the series produced by Netflix, which is now associated with his second time after the first, reaching 100 million views on the platform. “He is a very mysterious guy who is very protective of his privacy. When he goes out on the street, he is a normal person that everyone recognizes,” says the interpreter during the evening he shared with El Cultural.

I have a Lebanese father and an English mother, but I was born and raised in Tenerife, Skylar met with international success in the Sanji gamethe chef of the pirate gang following the series and one of the most requested characters by fans of the original story. Before that, I had a very ordinary life: I left school for 15 years, traveled to Australia to practice surfing, survived in very precarious conditions and later moved to England, where I developed in various fields, from dramaturgy and action in the world of fashion.

Life stirred the Netflix version of Eiichiro Oda’s work. An authentic bell, that is the history of the previous ones live action (the title for the manga adaptation) was even more successful: all previous plans to translate Japanese comics into the real world ended in disaster and comic cases. He didn’t feel that way with One pieceand you can tell by the cuteness that inspires the Spanish actor on the street: in the less than five minutes that we escort Skylar from the sofa to the studio for her interview, we have four opportunities for the actor to ask her for a photo or an autograph.

Please. The Spanish public seem to have no salt about anything. You’re ready to hear the news that a Spanish actor is starring in a hit Netflix blockbuster. Where have you been all this time? It is very surprising, for example, that one of the fathers would move from home to Australia so far away at the age of 15.

Response. Yes, and my father is also a very caring person. But he is also a very intelligent man I’m dating a guy without many options, but with a lot of energy. I appreciate being able to direct this energy where I want to lift it. No, if I am forced to desire it, it will go well. ESO is over… [ríe] How long does it take to tell ESO? It’s bachillerato, but it’s happening. I didn’t like it. Socially, he intends to force a certain type of path in studies, which I was not comfortable with. My father also tried to instill in me the typical character of a doctor. And there is nothing wrong with his career type My brain doesn’t work like that. And it’s not like my studies cost me anything, so I’m fine. The institute cost me on social networks.

P. What do you want to decide based on what you saw on social media?

R. Do not socialize with Nadie. I didn’t have many friends. I’ve always been a “guiri”, a recurring theme that has always weighed on me a bit. But above all, I think it’s something more internal for me. I remember, for example, that my mother always sat on the edge of the terrace of my elementary school during recess because She was always worried about the lone worm. Growing up, surfing was one of the few places where I felt comfortable, which is why I moved to Australia.

“In Spain we have a very intimate relationship with mango”

P. At what point do you praise the implementation?

R. At approximately 9 p.m. I would like to be a tour guide. For one thing, you are forced to interpret when it is wrong, de suplente. I also wrote plays for a while with the help of the British government. But they were limited in their assistance, and when I saw that I needed more actors than could afford me to pay with the public funds, I interpreted these papers.

P. Have you been keeping your laces with Spain since you bought them? Are you with your fathers progress places?

R. Sobre todo con España. I always feel like I’m in this country and that’s why I report as Spanish in this type of promotion. You can’t keep it all in life and yes, I know less in Spain than I used to. But if I had already rolled the car here, I would have guessed the opposite. Ahora I want Spain to be included in the conversationand that is why I insist on my promotion procedure. Yes, no, it’s very easy that an American property like this series is only American. But no, it is a project of many countries, with different names of procedures, and it is important to recognize that it is also Spain in the kitchen.

»Creo además que cada país recibe el mismo material de forma distinta. Nosotros éramos de los pocos países que veíamos anime en la tele: Oliver y Benji, Doraemon, Pokémon, Digimon, Naruto, One Piece… Algo que no necesariamente pasaba tan comúnmente en otros países como Estados Unidos. Tenemos una relación muy íntima con el manga en este país. Es muy raro que haya una persona española involucrada en este tipo de proyecto e incluso más raro que haya una persona canaria, así que me parecería una pena que no trabajemos todos juntos para reivindicarlo.

»Yo me siento mucho más cercano a la cultura de este país. Es el único sitio en el mundo donde yo vuelvo y doy rienda suelta a mi sentido de humor y la gente me pilla. Porque traducir tu sentido de humor es un percal. Yo soy diferente en inglés, tengo otra personalidad igual de honesta y válida y mía, pero es diferente a mi personalidad española, con la que me siento más yo.

P. Entremos ya en One Piece. Seguro que te advirtieron que los live-action estaban destinados irrevocablemente al fracaso. ¿Por qué crees que en esta ocasión sí que ha sido un éxito?

R. Creo que tuvimos la suerte de tener un director, un guionista principal y un showrunner con muy poco respeto al miedo. Todos eran, además, muy fans del manga, auténticos otakus que se sabían todo lo que ocurría de principio a fin. Y no solo es que se hayan leído One Piece, es que ha significado mucho para ellos en sus vidas.

»Normalmente, lo que ha pasado anteriormente es que ha habido una propiedad intelectual con mucho valor y lo ha comprado una productora. A continuación, se ha contratado a muy buenos directores y guionistas pero que no conocían tan bien le material original. Aunque se lo lean después, forma parte de su trabajo, no es lo mismo que abordarlo desde el corazón. Marc [Jobst]director, we say we want to create something that has its own independent value without being safe. How not? I was terrified. I wanted to do it well because I knew what it meant to so many people! But Marc kept it right. The fastest way to screw up is to worry about screwing up.

P. Do you feel like you’re adding another layer to your character that wasn’t there in the original work?

R. He didn’t know, he didn’t think about it. what are your opinions That’s what I’m asking you honestly.

P. For example, there is a person who may have some problems after being converted to a western production. Ultimately, his “perverted” attitude towards women is part of Japanese humor that could be interpreted as uncomfortable or inappropriate. This aspect is smoothed out on paper.

R. I am charmed by the manly figure of the lion, who does not ask for anything in return. If he lost a little exo, the prototype of a man is a galan. I even frown on flirting with a girl today. It’s a super good way to interact, as long as you do it out of respect and from a place where two people have the highest trust in each other and their self-respect does not depend on whether another person is valid or not. When these conditions are not met, a problem arises. With Sanji, I wanted to offer a character who is able to communicate so well and confidently because she is completely relatable to the female gender, which is ultimately where the love of a child is received.

P. The series edits less than 100 manga chapters at a time. At this rate, it takes more than 12 times to match the moment Od’s work is in now. Do you have the strength to tackle such a big project?

R. I can’t tell you no or no. Keep your signature inside the products for longer as you go. Now you have confirmed one more. You never find a moment to say “it’s worth it, now let’s get to the end”. No, it always goes one at a time. We confirm it at this certain point, then it will be true.

P. Was there a moment in this second season that you particularly enjoyed?

R. I’m a big fan of the skin that holds Sanji with the nutria. I find it silly and very entertainingbecause it’s with my camera and now I’m stuck on the road flying against the air. It’s a game that shows great cinematic confidence. You also have a moment where you can leave the context of your relationship with your mother, which is very special to me because I also have a very special relationship with my mother.

P. What is the impression of Spanish cinema? Would you like to work with a director from our country in the future?

R. Normally I can’t imagine what I want to do until it’s in front of me. Yes, I would like to participate in something Spanish. But I would be happy if it was a project that required my personal input. If it’s a piece of paper that a smart actor simply needs, I’d rather have it elsewhere. I want to bring more to this part. What I don’t want is a Spanish Sanji with a stuffed animal.

» I want to work with very passionate people on a project in Spanish that you care a lot about, where I can get in my way of interpreting the characters and help find a different point of view.