Who plays Arlong in Netflix’s ‘One Piece?’

The One Piece franchise boasts an exhaustive list of iconic villains that you simply wouldn’t want to run into at the local grocery store. One of the crazier foes Luffy and his crew have encountered over the years is the shark-like Arlong.

Arlong is a vicious fish-man who is all about the money. In the manga and anime, the character proves to be a terrible challenge for Luffy and his allies, serving as the titular antagonist during the Arlong Park Arc.

Equipped with one of the most iconic noses in all of anime history, Arlong is immediately one of those anime characters that makes you think: “There’s no way they can make this character live-action.” Well, Netflix did it – Arlong has officially jumped into the live-action adaptation realm! In Netflix’s One Piece, the character appears in four episodes and is portrayed by American actor McKinley Belcher III.

Who is McKinley Belcher III?

McKinley Belcher III is a veteran performer. In 2010, he appeared in his first television role, playing a part in an episode of Law & Order: LA. The next several years saw him take on roles in many other police procedurals, with the actor making guest spots in Rizzoli & Isles, Elementary, and Chicago P.D.

One of Belcher’s biggest roles arrived in 2017, when he began portraying FBI Agent Trevor Evans on Netflix’s hit series Ozark. And this year, the actor would get another big break on a Netflix series, this time in a world far away from the police procedural setting.

Belcher has taken sail on the high seas as every fan’s favorite super-strong, money-loving, water-throwing pirate. Bringing a character like Arlong to life in live-action wasn’t the easiest task, but Belcher did it, and the actor made sure the character didn’t lose his savage edge during the transition. And somehow, he makes that nose work, that takes skill.