Netflix's One Piece: Mihawk Actor Shares Behind The Scenes Look at Sword Training

Steven John Ward, the live-action Mihawk, shares one of his earliest images from training for his One Piece role.

By Evan Valentine

One Piece's live-action adaptation has, for many, broken the live-action anime curse. Taking eight episodes to introduce scores of new viewers to the Straw Hat Pirates, the actors and creative minds responsible for the series put some major effort into adapting the classic shonen series. Now, the man who brought Mihawk to life, Steven John Ward, has shared a behind-the-scenes look at the training he underwent in depicting one of the greatest swordsmen to ever walk the world of the Grand Line.

The swordsman known as Mihawk had quite the introduction in Netflix's One Piece, pitting his strength against Roronoa Zoro in one of the hardest-hitting battles of the live-action adaptation. In fighting against the Straw Hats' resident swordsman, Dracule Mihawk first started the battle by unsheathing a sword that could be barely described as a dagger. Eventually coming to respect Zoro and his desire to be the greatest swordsman in the world, Mihawk uses his real sword and gives Roronoa a quite nasty scar in the process. Should One Piece's live-action series be renewed for a second season, it might be questionable whether Mihawk will return if following the source material though he certainly left his mark in season one. 

Mihawk Trains For Battle

Steven John Ward shared a new image of his training to become Mihawk following the arrival of Netflix's One Piece. Like many of the other characters that first got their start in One Piece's manga series, Netflix was able to make Mihawk look like the spitting image of his anime counterpart, even down to his unique pupils. From Mihawk's appearances in the recent television series, Ward's training clearly paid off.

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When it comes to One Piece's manga, Mihawk has been featured as a part of the final saga that will bring Eiichiro Oda's shonen epic to a close. Without diving too deep into spoiler territory, the master swordsman is aiming to find the One Piece and has some serious backup when it comes to discovering Gol D. Roger's mythical treasure. Before the series ends, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Zoro and Mihawk have a long-awaited rematch.

What did you think of Ward's portrayal of Mihawk? Do you hope we'll see the swordsman return in season two of One Piece's Netflix series? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line. 

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