The buried detail in the Men’s Health profile of Taz Skylar is not just that he trained brutally for Sanji’s kicks. It is that he competes with his stunt double to do more of his own fights. That one fact reflects a broader push by streamers to sell “real” action and reduce reliance on faceless doubles.
Skylar Competing With His Stunt Double to Do More of His Own Fights Changes the Picture
Men’s Health covered Taz Skylar’s training and how he brought Sanji’s fighting style to life for Netflix’s One Piece live action. The piece frames his workout and commitment; the buried detail is the dynamic between Skylar and his stunt double. According to AnimeNews and SportsKeeda, Skylar performed all of Sanji’s action scenes himself without CGI alongside his stunt double, after rigorous martial arts training that started at two hours daily in South Africa and increased to five hours per day. Collider and IMDb reported that for Season 2 he spent three months focusing on Sanji’s fighting style and that his knees were severely damaged after Season 1 from the physical demands. So the actor is not just showing up for the easy shots; he is in an arms race with his double to do as much of the real action as possible.
That arms race is the buried detail that changes everything. When a lead actor competes with his stunt double to do more of his own fights, the production is signalling that “real” action is a selling point. Men’s Health highlighted how One Piece brought wild fight scenes from anime to live action, with fight coordinator Koji Kawamoto (John Wick: Chapter 4) and stunt coordinator Franz Spilhaus (Black Sails, Warrior) translating high-impact sequences into choreography. The fact that Skylar trained eight hours a day for eight months on his kicks, as reported by ComicBook, and that the cast learned their signature moves so that the actors could perform them themselves, as noted by SportsKeeda, points to a deliberate choice: reduce reliance on faceless doubles and market the authenticity of the action.
Netflix and other streamers have an incentive to push that trend. Big-budget action series need to stand out in a crowded feed; “the star really did it” is a differentiator. FandomWire reported that for Season 2 Skylar has been posting intense training routines and turning into a “combat machine” for Sanji. The buried detail is that this is not only about one actor’s work ethic. It is about streamers investing in lead actors who can do more of their own stunts, so that the action feels real and the brand leans into authenticity rather than anonymous doubles. That shift has as much to do with marketing and audience demand as with the craft itself.
What This Actually Means
The one fact in the report that changes everything is that Taz Skylar competes with his stunt double to do more of his own fights. It is not just a personal choice; it reflects a broader push by streamers to sell “real” action and reduce reliance on faceless doubles. Netflix’s One Piece is a case study: the actor trains to the point of injury, shares the frame with his double by doing as much as he can himself, and the show is marketed on that commitment. The buried detail is the arms race itself, and what it says about where Netflix action is going.
Who Is Taz Skylar and What Is One Piece?
Taz Skylar is the actor who plays Sanji, the cook and fighter of the Straw Hat crew, in Netflix’s live-action One Piece series. One Piece is a Japanese manga by Eiichiro Oda, adapted into a global anime and, since 2023, a Netflix live-action show. Sanji uses a kick-based “Black Leg” fighting style, which required Skylar to undergo extensive martial arts and physical training. He has performed Sanji’s action scenes alongside his stunt double, doing as much of the fighting himself as possible, and has continued intensive training for Season 2, which is set to premiere in March 2026.
Streaming platforms have long relied on stunt doubles to protect stars and meet tight schedules; the shift toward actors doing more of their own action is a conscious bet that audiences will notice and that the premium justifies the risk. Men’s Health and industry coverage make clear that Skylar’s case is part of that larger trend—one that could reshape how action is shot and sold in the next few years. The same logic applies beyond One Piece: when a lead actor is willing to train to the point of injury and to share the frame with a double only when necessary, the production can market authenticity. For Netflix, that narrative is already central to how it talks about the show. Whether other streamers follow will depend on star willingness and insurance, but the arms race has begun.
Sources
Men’s Health, Men’s Health, Collider, AnimeNews, SportsKeeda, ComicBook, FandomWire