Cover Julia Rehwald, the Filipino-American actress bringing Tashigi to life in Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
Julia Rehwald, the Filipino-American actress bringing Tashigi to life in Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
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As Marine swordswoman Tashigi in Netflix’s ‘One Piece’, Julia Rehwald enters a world of legendary blades, sprawling film sets and a story she once followed as a fan
Anyone who grew up turning the pages of One Piece knows the basics. A boy whose body mimics the properties of rubber vows to become king of the pirates. Swords carry names older than their wielders. Entire islands appear with a story that defies expectation. That same story continues in the live-action adaptation on Netflix, where Filipino-American actress Julia Rehwald (Fear Street, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures) steps into the boots of Marine swordswoman Tashigi—a character beloved by readers for her fierce convictions, encyclopaedic knowledge of blades and a habit of tripping over the very feet that carry her into battle.
For readers of Eiichiro Oda’s long-running pirate epic, Tashigi enters the story during the Loguetown arc both disciplined and absent-mindedly enthusiastic. She studies legendary swords the way a historian studies artefacts, pursues justice with stubborn resolve and repeatedly crosses paths with the ex-pirate hunter, now straw hat pirate Roronoa Zoro. The clashes are inevitable, but so is the fascination.
“Once I booked the role, I started with rewatching the arcs that we were going to cover,” says Rehwald. “Particularly Loguetown, because that’s where you really meet Tashigi.” And the research did not stop with the anime. Rehwald returned to the manga itself, studying the panels where the character appears, even to the smallest of details. “Sometimes there are certain panels where you like how that pose looks,” she says. “You want to find a way to bring that into the performance.”
It all became real when she arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, where much of the show is filmed. There she met her co-stars, including Mackenyu and Callum Kerr. Mackenyu portrays Zoro, the swordsman whose reputation both intrigues and irritates Tashigi, while Kerr plays the formidable Marine captain Smoker. “Seeing their energy really helped,” Rehwald explains. “I realised pretty quickly what I wanted to do when I was acting with them.”
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Above Julia Rehwald reflects on heritage, ambition and finding her place on screen (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
Julia Rehwald reflects on heritage, ambition and finding her place on screen (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
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The production itself is a feat of scale. One Piece thrives on elaborate settings, from floating restaurants to frozen kingdoms, and the live-action version rebuilds many of these locations rather than relying entirely on CGI.
Rehwald remembers her first day clearly. “They built the whole town,” she says. “It’s not green screen. You walk through the streets, then go into the sword shop and the entire interior is built as well.” The effect borders on surreal, and it felt “like being in an amusement park,” she laughs. “You look around and think, this can’t be real.”
Above Julia Rehwald on her first day on set: “It felt like being in an amusement park” (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
Julia Rehwald on her first day on set: “It felt like being in an amusement park” (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
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Admiring the scenery could only last so long. Tashigi fights often, and portraying a swordswoman requires credibility with a blade. Rehwald arrived in South Africa more than a month before filming to train with the stunt team. “I had about a month and a half before we started shooting where the focus was mainly sword training and choreography,” she explains. “Then we kept practising throughout the whole shoot.”
By the end of four months, her movements were confident. Still, one scene loomed large: her duel with Zoro. “I was definitely nervous about the fight with Mackenyu,” she admits. “He’s so good at what he does. I wanted to be a good scene partner.” However, the nerves faded quickly. “He knows how to make everything work.”
Balancing the heightened fantasy and theatricality of One Piece with grounded acting was another challenge. It was the biggest task for almost all the cast members, and they decided to approach it with earnestness. “It might be crazy to us, but to these characters, everything they’re experiencing is normal,” Rehwald explains. “Treating it like that is helpful, and you just do what the character would do.”
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The actress, who grew up with both One Piece and the Fear Street books, sees parallels between her roles. “Action sequences, chase scenes, life-or-death moments—it’s thrilling to act in that state,” she says. “It’s slightly different because there’s choreography you have to nail, but the stakes feel real.”
Her heritage is also a huge factor in her approach. As a half-Filipina actress, Rehwald has often struggled to find representation growing up. Playing a role in a global Netflix series carries significance beyond the character. “The first few days on set, filming the sword shop scene and being surrounded by talented Asian actors (Mackenyu and James Hiroyuki Liao), was something I’d never experienced before,” she says. “It felt like an exciting new family.”
The whole experience has taught her more than swordplay or camera work. Filming Season 2, the biggest takeaway for her was how valuable community and friendships are: “Being so far from home could feel isolating, but everyone on set was generous, both as actors and friends. It made the work feel so much more rewarding.”
Above Julia Rehwald describes the cast of One Piece as a “new little family” formed far from home (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
Julia Rehwald describes the cast of One Piece as a “new little family” formed far from home (Photo: Patrick Donovan)
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Looking forward, Rehwald has begun exploring other avenues. “I’ve been writing some screenplays, horror-comedy kind of in the vein of Fear Street, that I’d love to act in,” she says. “I’m interested in writing and directing someday. To be able to make my own projects is something I’m really interested in.”
For now, she continues to inhabit Tashigi—a swordswoman who falters, falls, rises and refuses to surrender, qualities Rehwald clearly admires. “With Tashigi, you really see her step into herself, her dreams, her sense of justice,” she reflects. “She owns it. And watching her do that has been a fun journey to play.”
As the series moves into its next chapter, it is the sense of community on set that anchors her. “I feel like I found a new little family here,” she says. “Having that comfort makes the work so much better, and it makes everything feel so much more fulfilling.”
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Photography: Patrick Donovan
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is a digital editor at Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
