Jamie Lee Curtis wants to play Dr. Kureha on One Piece, and so does the showrunner
By Dan Selcke
The first season of One Piece on Netflix was an unqualified success, quickly earning itself a second season order. Netflix has had problems making live-action versions of anime series before, but with One Piece, they hit it out of the park.
Now everyone is looking forward to the second season of this rip-roaring pirate adventure. At the end of season 1, Luffy and crew were sailing to the Grand Line in hopes of finding legendary One Piece treasure. Eiichiro Oda’s original manga has many more hundreds of chapters to get through, so this Netflix show could last for a long while. There remain lots of colorful characters for Luffy and co to meet.
That includes Dr. Kureha, a 141-year-old physician who lives on Drum Island. She’s the adoptive mother of Tony Tony Chopper, a very popular character we’re all but sure to see in season 2. Fans have a very good idea of who they’d like to see play Dr. Kureha: legendary 64-year-old actor Jamie Lee Curtis, who’s been a screen icon since 1978’s Halloween and who recently won her first Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Everyone wants Jamie Lee Curtis to be on One Piece, including Jamie Lee Curtis
As it ends up, Curtis is completely on board with this idea and said so in an Instagram post, although she doesn’t intend to start lobbying for the role until after the ongoing Hollywood actors strike it over:
“Once the strike against the greed of the [AMPTP] is settled with a fair contract I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in One Piece,” Curtis wrote. For months, Hollywood actors and writers have been striking for better pay, increasing job security, and guardrails on the use of AI. The writers strike is nearly at an end, and hopefully the actors strike will wind down soon as well.
Once it does, it seems like all the pieces are in place for Curtis to proceed directly to the Grand Line. Just look what One Piece co-showrunner Matt Owens wrote in the comments to Curtis’ post: “Mommy dearest, that’s why we sent you that figure! No need to lobby. Once we get what we deserve and get back to work let’s talk!”
As far as I’m concerned, Curtis’ involvement seems set in stone. Now to cast the rest of the players:
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h/t Digital Spy