Maeda Mackenyu, the actor of Zoro in One Piece, received another live-action offer before that, but the project's performance was disastrous.
The Cast of One Piece React to the Teaser | Netflix
Maeda Mackenyu is known for her role as Roronoa Zoro in the One Piece live-action adaptation by Netflix. Mackenyu became an otaku name just last year, but the actor debuted in Japan in the early 2010s and landed a steady stream of roles after his debut.
After deciding to take up foreign roles, the actor reached one milestone after another. But his role as the main character in a significantly large live-action project did him no favors. While it served to launch his career overseas, One Piece could be called the saving grace among his American projects.
Knights of the Zodiac, a fantasy action film, was released in April 2023 in Japan and May 2023 in the United States. It is based on the classic Saint Seiya manga. Mackenyu played the main role in the film, Seiya. However, the film received mostly negative reviews from both audiences and critics and eventually became a box office bomb. The film had a budget of $60 million but was only able to earn $7 million.
