Shanks

Joe Alblas / Netflix Tudum — editorial use, removal on request

The character

The emperor who started the story: Shanks trusted a small-town boy with the most famous hat in the world, and the whole series is the receipt. He appears rarely, and every appearance is an event.

Character development

From apprentice cabin boy on the Pirate King's ship to one of the Four Emperors — self-made, without a Devil Fruit. He gave his arm to save a village boy and bet it on a new era of piracy. That boy carries his hat into the live-action's biggest scenes.

Powers & abilities

• Supreme Conqueror's Haki — knocks out elite veterans and can physically damage ships and people through presence alone
• Peerless swordsman — former dueling rival of the world's strongest swordsman
• Command of an Emperor-level fleet and unmatched political influence across the seas

The actor

Peter Gadiot — as Red-Haired Shanks · Season 1.

Peter Gadiot is a British actor known internationally for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Queen of the South before taking the role that every One Piece fan judges the entire show by.

Known for

• One Piece (Netflix, 2023)
• Queen of the South
• Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

The casting story

Gadiot was part of the original 2021 main-cast announcement. The prologue scene — Luffy, the hat, and the sacrifice — became the series' calling card, and Gadiot's Shanks set the tone: warm, dangerous, and gone too soon. His return is one of the fandom's most-requested sights in future seasons.

Why this casting works

Peter Gadiot carried the scene every fan judged the entire show by — the "you owe me your hat" prologue. His warm, weighty Shanks set the tone for everything the live-action would become.

Sources

• Netflix Tudum — cast and characters