NEXT BIG THING

TAZ SKYLAR… IS COOKING WITH GAS

Shooting to global attention as kick-ass sous-chef Sanji in Netflix hit One Piece, Taz Skylar is an actor, Olivier-nominated playwright and extreme sports enthusiast. He’ll soon be seen in Martin Campbell’s eco-thriller Cleaner, co-starring Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen, but first comes LFF-award-winning London crime story Gassed Up, which the multihyphenate co-wrote and stars in.

How did Gassed Up come about?

Bart Ruspoli and Hester Ruoff, the lead producers on the film, came to see my first play and have been mentors of mine. They brought this to me. I just thought it was a really cool concept. I started writing that in a van, bro, while surfing at the artificial wave in Bristol.

How did things change for you after One Piece exploded?

When the show came out, it was very intense night and day. A good analogy for it that I’ve found is: it’s like I’ve ordered my life on Amazon. It was a delayed delivery, but it all came at once. And I didn’t account for what to do with all the boxes.

Where did your interest in a writing and acting career come from?

I left school when I was 15, travelled around everywhere and ended up in San Sebastián making surfboards for five years. I used to go out and film surfers – kind of like Spike Jonze with skateboarders. I just had a feeling that making films was what I was meant to be doing.

You’ve already had a wildly varied career…

The only downside I could ever see to something as big as One Piece is forever [only] just being [part of] that. I do feel really lucky to have had, very quickly, the opportunities to go completely left-field. And this year has some things that I’m also really excited about, which are completely different again, before I do Season 2.

GASSED UP OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 9 FEBRUARY.