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"One Piece is like a clown show," explains Usopp actor Sonny Strait, and that's what makes it great

One Piece makes the big emotional moments of the series a real challenge to perform.

Features by Trent Cannon, Contributing writer

Published on Thu Jun 20 2024

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One of the best things about One Piece is how it manages to jump from joyful mischief to heartbreakingly sad within a matter of moments. It is a big part of what makes Eiichiro Oda’s writing so remarkable, but it also presents a unique challenge to the actors portraying his characters, which the One Piece English cast revealed during their reunion panel at MCM London.

Sonny Strait, who has been playing Usopp in the English dub of One Piece, reflected on the emotional rollercoaster that the anime takes both its viewers and actors on as the cast revealed their favorite arcs in the show. “One Piece is like a clown show,” he explained. “It’s, like, all these clowns, but you’re required as an actor to play the most serious scene you’ve ever done in your career… as a clown. It’s amazing.”

Watching the Straw Hats clown around across the Grand Line might be what takes up most of their time, but we’d wager that the scenes that most One Piece fans remember are the ones where the actors have to make those same clowns bare their souls. It is why the Marineford arc is our favorite arc in the series (so far) and why the moment when Luffy swears he is going to protect Nami and her dream from Arlong Park is the most important moment in the entire series. We love these goofy clowns, but we love them even more when they are showing us that even clowns make us cry.

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