Over the last couple of weeks and months, Netflix has slowly been revealing new members who are joining the cast of its live-action One Piece series for Season 2. It's already been confirmed that the upcoming season will heavily feature the Baroque Works crime syndicate as the series will cover the Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island arcs.
One of the first new members to be introduced to the cast was David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil) who will play Mr. 3, aka "Loan Shark Galdino." Mr. 3 is an agent of Baroque Works who works alongside his partner Miss Goldenweek.
Mr. 3 figures to play a prominent role in Season 2 as he serves as the main antagonist of the Little Garden Arc and is one of the central characters from Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works."
In a recent interview with Nerdist, Dastmalchian was asked about his role in the highly anticipated second season of One Piece and bringing the character of Mr. 3 to life in the series. Here's what he said:
I mean, he’s so unique and such a fantastically interesting odd character. So, the idea of getting to be a part of what is already an amazing ensemble is incredible—I think that season one was just so great.
And I think that what I want to bring to him is finding the David that lives inside of Galino. I want to find the David that is, I mean, he was just an office worker at Baroque Works, and now he’s this really cool, weird, often seen-as-bad guy character whose alliances can kind of shift around just like so many of the characters in One Piece. And I’m excited to see what they want to do because they’ve done such an exceptional job making the anime and the manga into a live-action world.
Galdino at the Doru Doru no Mi Devil Fruit, which allows him to create and control candle wax. He's able to manipulate the wax into any shape, change it between solid and liquid states, and control its motion. He's also able to produce flames from his hair while using his powers and craft various weapons and objects out of wax (which is said to be stronger than steel while it is solid).
Dastmalchian, who has a history of starring in horror projects, was asked if he could borrow from his background to bring Mr. 3 to life since the One Piece series often borrows from horror and supernatural stories.
A hundred percent. Also, there’s a level of energy and performance that the show taps into really well when you think about the source material. So I would also like to bring some of my theater background into the world of One Piece and what Mr. 3 looks, moves, and speaks like. Hopefully no one will be able to hold a candle to what I’m about to do.
Dastmalchian was also asked if he could elaborate at all on Mr. 3's unique hairstyle. While he admitted that he hadn't seen anything yet, the actor expressed confidence that the end result would "pay great honor to the design from the source material."
Netflix is still filming Season 2 of One Piece right now. Despite the recent influx of news and behind-the-scenes videos, the streamer has still not announced a premiere date, though one video seemed to tease a 2025 release window.