Netflix's One Piece: Who Plays Mihawk & What Does He Look Like Out Of Costume?

Dracule Mihawk isn't around for long in "One Piece" Season 1, but he makes his presence felt, disposing of one of the Straw Hats' strongest members, Zoro (Mackenyu), with quick and relative ease. If the manga is anything to go off of, Mihawk will undoubtedly return in future episodes. Still, you might be wondering who plays the legendary swordsman, one of the most powerful characters in "One Piece," in the Netflix series.

Steven Ward lends his acting talents to Mihawk, bringing the fan-favorite villain and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to live-action. The South African actor rose to prominence within the movie and TV industry of his home country, starring in shows like "Queen Sono," the true crime miniseries "Catch Me A Killer, and "Inconceivable," which paired him with Netflix's Axe-Hand Morgan, Langley Kirkwood. He also starred in the romance TV movie "The Day We Didn't Meet." 

Surprisingly, Mihawk isn't the first character that Ward has brought from the pages to live-action. The actor appeared in SyFy's short-lived series "Vagrant Queen," which is an adaptation of the Vault comic book of the same name. It's safe to say then that Ward was already prepared for the challenges of bringing a character from page to screen before landing his role in "One Piece."

"One Piece" fans may be surprised to learn that Steven Ward doesn't sport Dracule Mihawk's iconic facial hair and yellow eyes in his everyday life. Through the magic of makeup, the actor underwent a noticeable transformation to bring the swordsman to Netflix's live-action series. 

Netflix posted a timelapse video on YouTube revealing Ward's daily routine on the set of "One Piece." The video shows the makeup department demonstrating their expertise in making the actor look like an anime character. By the end, Ward disappears, and Mihawk emerges. Still, this isn't the only way Ward transformed himself for the role. 

The actor needed to pack on plenty of muscle for "One Piece," playing a character known as the "Strongest Swordsman in the World," with a weapon large enough to fit that title. In an interview with GLITCHED at Comic-Con Africa, Ward reflected on getting in shape to play Mihawk. "When I finally figured out what all of this was, I Googled my character, and I saw one, two, three, four, five. He's got a 10-pack," he said, admitting that he doesn't share the same insane physique as Mihawk. "I was a lot skinnier then, too. And so I think that same week, I just started exercising non-stop. So that was just like my basic, mentally going, 'I've got to look a certain way. I've got to do that now.'" 

Ward also did plenty of stunt training for the role, working with the "One Piece" stunt crew and a Japanese swordmaster to perfect the live-action Mihawk.