One Piece star Taz Skylar opens up about the challenges of signing up for a huge Netflix show

One Piece star Taz Skylar has opened up about the pros and cons of signing up for a hit Netflix show.

"The only downside I could ever see to something as big as One Piece is forever just being that," Skylar tells Total Film in our new issue, which features Dune 2 on the cover and is out this Thursday. "If forever that is all you are, that’s not even a bad thing. But that’s not something I would like. I am proud to have that as a part of me for the rest of my life, but I don’t want to be defined by it."

Continues Skylar: "I do feel really lucky to have had, very quickly, the opportunities to go completely leftfield from it [in upcoming films Two Neighbours and Cleaner]. You see me in One Piece, and right now I’ve got a shaved head and I’ve got tattoos! You know what I’m saying? And this year has some things that I’m also really excited about which are completely different again, before I do season two."

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Based on the beloved manga and anime of the same name, One Piece follows aspiring Pirate King Monkey D Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and his band of misfits: Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), Nami the thief (Emily Rudd), daydreamer Usopp (Jacob Romero), and Skylar's Sanji, a suave chef who impressively fights with his legs and feet – as he believes his hands are for cooking only.

In the first weekend of its release, the series hit number-one TV in 84 different countries on the global Netflix Charts. It was swiftly renewed for a second season.

Next up, Skylar co-wrote and stars in Gassed Up, a British crime drama helmed by George Amponsah in his feature film directorial debut. The story centers on Ash (Stephen Odubola), a member of a moped street gang in London who uses his earnings from petty thefts to support his family. Things take a dramatic turn when a jewelry heist alerts an Albanian crime family to his crew. The cast includes Steve Toussaint, Mae Muller, Harry Pinero, Yung Filly, Ms Banks, and Jelena Gavrilovic.

• Pre-order the Dune 2 issue of Total Film

Gassed Up is out in theaters on February 9. You can read more about it, and a whole lot else besides, in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, February 1. Check out the covers below:

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy, or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. You'll get every issue before it's in stores, and you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers.