If Sanji exists, it’s thanks to this American actor, and it’s not Leonardo Dicaprio!
Eiichiro Oda draws its inspiration from American cinema
One Piece is probably one of the most popular manga of the 21st century. It must be said that the work ofEiichiro Oda broke all records as it was sold for more than 500 million copiesworldwide. A colossal success which is explained by the presence of dantesque and charismatic characters.
Some enjoy unparalleled popularity, such as Luffy, Zoro or Oden whose faces can be found on many derivative products. Others are very powerful and spice up the story like Kaido, Shanks or Mihawk. But to create such diverse and varied personalities, Eiichiro Oda resorted to some amazing sources of inspiration. It’s the case for Sanji which is directly inspired by a well-known American actor: Steve Buscemi.
Sanji is inspired by the actor Steve Buscemi
Asked by fans about Sanji’s origin, Eiichiro Oda decided to reveal his inspiration for the character creation process. The younger generations will probably not know Steve Buscemi, but he is nevertheless the Hollywood actor who “gave” his personality to the Black Leg, in particular thanks to his role in Reservoir Dogs (1992):
A lot of people were asking about DiCaprio at the time. But in fact, Sanji’s model has a much darker past. I didn’t model it to the point of wanting an obvious physical likeness; it was more like I was hoping to get across his attitude and mannerisms. Sanji was based on actor Steve Buscemi, specifically his role in Reservoir Dogs. He’s really super cool. The only person who ever guessed correctly was a Bandai employee years ago.