One Piece Star Iñaki Godoy Pinpoints His Most Difficult Scene As Luffy

Despite his goofy nature, Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) is more complex than he seems, emotionally connecting everyone he calls a friend in "One Piece." Naturally, finding the right balance for the live-action version of the beloved character was a must for Godoy, and one scene in particular proved surprisingly difficult for the young star.

Surprisingly, it wasn't any of Luffy's many anime-like fight scenes that proved most challenging for Godoy, but one of his more intimate scenes with Koby (Morgan Davies). "I think for me, the hardest scene to film... I had this one scene with Koby in a dinghy, where we're talking about dreams and that he wants to be a Marine," Godoy reflected to Teen Vogue. "It was a very important scene because Luffy's all about dreams. So, I knew I had to get this scene right. This is what the character is all about."

Godoy recalled rehearsing the scene many times before cameras were rolling, changing minor things about his performance to nail Luffy's character perfectly. "There's this side of Luffy that he is very kind and nice. He's not just a ball of energy. He's a ball of energy that listens," the actor said. Although it took considerable fine-tuning, Godoy thinks all the hard work eventually paid off, with Netflix's "One Piece" ultimately nailing the scene.

Naturally, adapting an anime comes with challenges, and Iñaki Godoy has talked about how "One Piece" planned to overcome the live-action anime hurdles. However, the actor had his own daunting task of bringing Luffy to life, and it took finding a perfect balance between the Straw Hat captain's many personality traits.

"He is very explosive, very optimistic," Godoy said in his interview with Teen Vogue, talking about how he got into character for "One Piece." "He's a crazy guy in a lot of ways, but he's also kind, and he doesn't speak too much. He listens a lot. To me, it felt like Luffy was an optimistic big dreamer who cares about his friends. Who's brave, who's committed, and who will do anything for his dreams. So, understanding that was a key factor for me to play this character. And then, after that, it was finding a balance between how can I be fun, energetic, and crazy but also keep this real. How do I find that balance?"

Godoy reminisced on the filming process for "One Piece," crediting director Marc Jobst for allowing him to perfect his version of Luffy. He called Jobst his "parachute," bouncing slight differences, like making funny faces, with each take, forming his take on the character while remaining faithful to the original. Although he made the role his own, Godoy says he couldn't have played Luffy in "One Piece" without having a team behind him that he could trust, allowing him to step outside of his comfort zone.