One Piece Live-Action Genzo - The Grant Ross Interview - OP Fandom

In another video interview with OPfandom.com, Tony Waldman spoke to Grant Ross, the actor for Genzo in Netflix’s recent One Piece live action. A South African native, Grant spoke about how he stepped away from acting four months before his audition for Genzo.

When a seemingly destined series of events occurred, he soon found himself back to his passion and embodying a character he was truly meant to play.

After Grant had “let go” of acting, his agents began to nudge him. He was sorely missed and they sent him auditions, three of which he rejected for the One Piece live action. With the realization that maybe a big break was on the horizon, Grant quickly put together a self tape for a “Project Panda” gig. With his added improv and focus on being completely authentic, he booked the role. “It was almost like they saw a part of me that was very similar to Genzo,” Ross explains. Being an actual father like Genzo was to Nami and Nojiko, Grant was able to channel the frequencies of parenting and bring the character to life.

Upon seeing Genzo for the first time, Grant was completely shocked by how much the character resembled him. “I really could not believe it.” After growing his mustache for 45 days and fan photoshops showing the possibilities, it became uncanny how strikingly similar Grant and Genzo were. As he prepared to take on this role, he started to learn and understand the world of One Piece. Commenting that Oda is a “genius,” Grant goes on to say that he thinks the One Piece author “understands the world very well,” and was able to create a “diverse” and “authentic” setting where the live action casting really reflects Oda’s vision in his story.

With the lack of attention most South African actors get, landing a One Piece role has helped Grant not only book a lot more work but be put on the fandom convention circuit as a guest. “It’s given me a massive confidence boost as well,” Ross notes when talking about the amazing shift he had while filming the show. He mentioned really looking forward to a convention in Cape Town coming up that included a Q and A along with One Piece actors, some who portrayed Nojiko, Axe-Hand Morgan, Helmeppo, Captain Kuro, and Young Mihawk.

Grant cites learning a lot from his co-actors, particularly Taz Skylar (Sanji) who was constantly trying to better himself in terms of physical training. Inspired by Taz, Ross started firearm training which helped him book more spots in the film industry. He describes Inaki Godoy (Luffy), as “so humble, so respectful, so kind,” and even though he was one of the top stars of the show, he would ask Grant for advice. “What a gem of a being,” Grant says about Godoy. He goes on to talk about how Emily Rudd (Nami) is a “special” actor that he he was able to learn from, and how McKinley Belcher III (Arlong) was “incredible, kind, and loving.” “There was not an ego on set,” he says, which seemed to make being on set “overwhelming” in the best way possible.

Ross talks about really studying his character and listening to all of the voice actors that portrayed Genzo, coming up with his own style and voice choices in different scenes. “The moment you know who your character is, your voice does change – based on trauma; based on events that happened.” Director Josef Wladyaka worked with Grant during his episodes. He found him to be a rare kind of director who was very encouraging and “like a monk” who was still and “emitted trust.” He was the kind of director that gave the actors some freedom which helped unlock certain things within Ross.

Film and acting changed Grant’s life growing up. As a shy kid, Grant lacked the confidence to be the person he wanted to be. When seeing bloopers at the end of a Ryan Reynold’s movie, something shifted with him. He realized that actors can make mistakes and laugh at them while also learning from them. “There is something about acting that is challenging, and it helps you to live in the present moment, almost forgeting who you are.” Grant continues to grow as a person and an actor with every new experience he has.

🎞Behind the scenes🎬

🫡🍊Genzo vs Kuroobi🐠🐟

⚔️Face Wounds🗡#OnePieceNetflix #ONEPIECE #Netflix #ONEPIECELIVEACTION #Genzo pic.twitter.com/AewFk1MGJL
— Grant Ross (@GrantRMross) September 5, 2023

Towards the end of the interview, Genzo’s kids joined him and we got to see a glimpse of where some of that parenting inspiration helped in the role for Genzo. His message to opfandom.com readers and their sibling Facebook group, One Piece – Two Million Fans: “Keep reaching for your dreams,” even if you have to walk away from them for a bit like he did. “Keep growing, keep learning, keep working on yourself.” Even during “your darkest time, don’t give up. Dreams become a reality not by force or demand but by letting go and asking the right questions within yourself.”

In some of his final words during the talk, he gives a little nod to the world he is now part of and says, “keep searching for that ‘one piece’ within yourself.”