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- [00:00]
TaxAct Announcer
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- [00:30]
Rob Coletti
I didn't expect this.
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Ad Voice
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- [00:39]
Rob Coletti
Download TikTok now and try it.
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Zach
Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of opla, our series about the One Piece liveaction series. I'm Zach, and I have Alex here with me. How's it going, Alex?
- [01:24]
Alex
It's going great. It's going great. Hey, work day.
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Zach
Work day.
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Alex
We're gonna do on a workday.
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Zach
Yeah, yeah. We're cutting out. Don't tell them that we're doing that. But we have a very special guest with us. Rob Coletti is here, who plays Waffle. How's it going, Rob?
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Rob Coletti
What's up, guys? Thanks for having me.
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Zach
Yeah, of course. And you're in New York, so I know you're doing a lot of Broadway stuff. Is that what you're up to these days?
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Rob Coletti
I have done some Broadway. Yeah. I'm not doing anything at the moment, but, yeah, I've been doing Broadway since 2014.
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Zach
Wow.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah.
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Zach
Yeah.
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Rob Coletti
Did the Book of Mormon all the way back in. 2014 was my first show.
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Alex
That's awesome. That's a really. That's a. That's a super exciting show to be on.
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Zach
Yeah.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah. Back then especially, it was like the biggest show in the world at the time. It was very, very exciting.
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Zach
Yeah, that's really cool. How did you find your way onto One Piece? What happened? I don't know why I put it that way.
- [02:33]
Rob Coletti
I honestly, I just got very lucky. I, like, I've told this story a couple of times recently, so my apologies if you've already heard it, but I had no idea what One Piece was before I auditioned for it. I. It was kind of like that phenomenon of where you don't know what something is, then you learn what it is, and then suddenly you see it everywhere. That was exactly what happened with One Piece. But when I was auditioning, it had, like, a code name for the show. My character was. Had a code name. It was Alessandro. And when I read it, I, like, assumed that he was Italian. So I did my first Initial audition with this Italian accent. And, and the scenes were actually. They were like, completely written just for the audition. They weren't. It wasn't any material from the actual show. They just kind of like, wrote these scenes that were essentially kind of proxy stories to what actually existed. And when I read it, I could definitely tell that there was this element of comedy to it. But there was obviously, I think, I mean, Waffle is a pretty terrible person. So he. You know, it was clear to me that there was a lot of, like, menace and terror in this person as well. And again, like, I didn't have any idea what One Piece was anyway, but that wasn't. It was irrelevant because you couldn't have known. It was just this random thing. And as I was reading it, I kind of got this vibe of, like, King Joffrey from Game of Thrones. And I, I. But I also didn't want to, like, lean into the. The spoiled brattiness because the, the actual dialogue in the scenes was really menacing. And so I kind of like, tuned it up a little bit with some Khal Drago. And I had a number of influences from, like, real life people as well. You know, kind of like despots, people who were authoritarians in positions of power that are, you know, spoiled and rich and act in their own self interest at the.
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Zach
Doesn't sound like that.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah, it doesn't sound like anyone that we know. I'll let you use your own deductive powers to determine who that might be. But anyway, I, yeah, just kind of like, put all those elements together and gave it my best shot. And before you knew it, I just had a, you know, my. My agent called and said that they wanted to do producer session, and Oda was like, on a video call to watch it. And, you know, it was just. I worked with the director and the showrunners on just kind of fine tuning what they did. And they were like, also, you can drop the accent and just talk like a regular person. Which I did, although I kind of had like a little bit of a growl to myself. And then I didn't hear anything for a few weeks. And actually I thought that I didn't get it. And then my agent called and told me that I booked it, which was crazy. And literally, just a few days later, I went to Vegas to go see Dead and Company at the Sphere.
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Alex
Oh, dope.
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Rob Coletti
And as I was flying into Vegas, I looked over at the Sphere and the One Piece ad was flying around on the Sphere. So it was very, like, kismet moment. And then all of a sudden, I'm walking around Vegas and I see ads for one piece, and I saw somebody in a straw.
- [06:10]
Zach
Ha.
- [06:11]
Rob Coletti
And, you know, in New York, I see people with T shirts and sweatshirts, and I see the bus advertisements, and, yeah, this thing that I literally knew nothing about before the audition, suddenly it's just ubiquitous everywhere in the world, and I can't. You know, you can't go anywhere without seeing something from it. And that's been a really kind of crazy, wild experience. But, yeah, to kind of, like, answer your initial question, I just kind of got lucky. My agents were able to get me seen because of kind of how I look. They submitted me to casting, and they wanted to at least see me do a self tape. And. Yeah, it's actually the first time in my entire career that I recorded a self tape in my apartment and actually booked the show.
- [06:53]
Alex
Wow.
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Rob Coletti
You know, as an actor, it's really tough to do that. Self tapes are kind of the new norm now. But, yeah, it was just a total shot in the dark, and I feel very lucky and very, very blessed. Very fortunate, and it just kind of went my way.
- [07:12]
Alex
That's really awesome. Yeah. I'm glad that you brought up your influences, too, because there's so much that you bring to the character that is absolutely, like. It's very true to the character. But, like, I was like, man, this guy's got the juice. Like, totally brought your own into it. Like, jammed it up. You have that, like. You know, you really did have that menacing tone. But also, like, Wapol is kind of a funny, fun character. One of these guys that you kind of love to hate. Like, you have this. I'm obsessed with this line reading that you do. I'm not sure if this was a choice of yours or not.
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Zach
He's been saying it a lot lately.
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Alex
Princess Vivi of Alabasta.
- [07:54]
Rob Coletti
Alabasta.
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Alex
And it's such a. Like, it's such a wonderful. Just. It seemed just like a nice, fun, personal spin on the character. And a lot of what you brought to this is probably also like a. I mean, a combination of being theater actor and having the prosthetics. You did a lot of work with your eyes and just so impressive and just so expressive.
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Rob Coletti
Thank you.
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Alex
Yeah.
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Zach
Just a compliment.
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Alex
I guess these are just mostly compliments, but I guess the question is if you can talk a little bit about your process there in terms of just getting into character and any sort of choices that you made and why you decided to make them at the time.
- [08:47]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah, of course. I mean, thank you. That's really kind. I'm really grateful for that. And you know, like, my biggest concern going into this whole process was kind was making sure that I did two things. That I honored Oda's work and that I delivered a performance that the fans would want to see. And part of that was I. I didn't watch the anime. I was like, very intentional about not wanting to do that. I still haven't. I don't know what Waffle sounds like at all from the voice actors. I. I only can assume what he's like based on the manga because I've read up through the Jum island arc, but I don't know how he moves on the anime. I don't know anything about it. I have very intentionally avoided it. I may watch it at some point. I'd like to. I think at this point, I kind of feel like, because I've become a fan of the manga, like, I think it's some of the best written material in any media format on planet Earth, and I just have fallen in love with it. And I think for that reason alone, I'll probably eventually be drawn to it. But yeah, I wanted to make sure that I completely avoided it. And I mean, doing theater is certainly part of the reason why I think that I was able to quickly adjust to doing something like this. It was. I mean, any theater actor will probably say that, like, we don't consider ourselves like a theater actor or a film actor. I think we just kind of see ourselves as actors. And it just so happens that, you know, my experience has, in my career to this point mostly been Broadway and theater. But, you know, like, I still have strived to have an opportunity like this my whole career. And fortunately, I think I've just had enough experience to recognize in the text that there is a lot of theatricality. To Waffle, specifically, he is a very over the top, kind of like a bit of a prima donna. You know, he's certainly expressive. And yeah, like, when I actually got into the costume and the jaw, it kind of brought out this physicality that I couldn't even have anticipated on the page. You know, the jaw, like, just having it on made me want to, like, move my face left and right and I had to, like, think about how my eyes looked over the jaw. And, you know, there were a couple of takes on my first day of shooting where I was just presuming that I needed to do something smaller because it was on camera. We were doing coverage up close right away, and after the second take, the director Came over, he was like, hey, just so you know, there's a big piece of metal on your face and I can't see what you're doing, so you're gonna have to. You're gonna have to dial it up a lot. And. And that was when I kind of knew that I had the freedom to go bigger with him. And, yeah, I really. I really made that my. My number one goal to like, try and make sure that what it was I had read on the page and Oda had written and then the showrunners had adapted, would tell this story. And in reading the manga, what's really clear is that he is just, you know, he has so much energy and he's very demanding. He's really entitled and he's cruel. But I also, I really got the impression that it comes from a place of being broken. And I mean, my job as an actor is to humanize decisions. I have to make sure that whatever it is that is being done is rooted in some kind of motive. And, you know, unfortunately, Waffle, especially for the live action, he's just written so cartoonishly evil. Like, there's He. He goes out of his way to slap a child and doesn't even pretend to have it be an accident. You know, he. He stabs his own best for, well, I guess not best friend, but one of his own former friends and, you know, guardsmen and confidants just out of spite. You know, he. He is a cruel and demented individual, but it had to be rooted in some kind of humanity. And in talking with the showrunners, video preparation and getting prepared to shoot, you know, I just. We just kind of like really landed on wanting to make sure that this. This person, history, this person's struggle was at least somewhat present. And for me, the decision was. And it was, you know, something that we all. And the, you know, the writers approved of and the showrunner specifically was just to make sure that this idea that, you know, he. He wanted to impress his daddy. He never had his father's love. And, you know, again, like, I'll. I'll leave it to you to determine if that's reflective of anything real or not in society. But, you know, there's just this. There's this very obvious sad and broken man inside of Waffle. And I think that there's a really clear path for, you know, some kind of understanding, at least for him, even if the actual actions are awful. But we just really wanted to make sure that that was the. The core tenet of how we went forward with this person. And yeah, every decision that I made was just kind of rooted in that and the theatricality of it all. The jaw, the armor, those elevated, they heightened those elements. And of course, like, it was really exciting to be on set and see the crew responding to what was happening, because we kind of knew when we started filming that this was gonna be exciting. But ultimately, again, my two biggest concerns were A, honoring Oda's story and B, making sure that we did something that the fans would love. And to have seen since the show came out that the fans are really responding positively to this interpretation of the character, which, again, like, I just kind of have crafted blindly based on my own understanding of the manga, is just. It's a huge success in my mind. I just. I feel like we. I feel very grateful that we did it to this level so that the people. Those are the people who matter most, and those are the opinions that we seem to have really kind of like, gotten the approval of. And, you know, Oder's very happy with it, and it seems like the fans are really happy with it.
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Zach
Yeah,
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Alex
I was gonna say. Yeah. As fans of the Drum island arc ourselves, like, that's me and Zach especially. Like, we put that over a lot of really popular arcs too, just because it has a lot of weight, has a lot of heart. And I've always said that Walpole's one of my favorite villains because he's such a bastard. And like, it's.
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Zach
He's a bastard and he's hilarious somehow
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Alex
simultaneously, yeah, it works out really well like that. And when you have, like an antagonist like that within an. That has probably the most heart out of any of the one piece story arcs. It's always when you sit down to watch this live action Hollywood adaptation of it, you're like, okay, let's see how close to the mark they can get. And I feel like out of the whole season, this is probably my favorite section. Personally, I think it really hits the mark. And that's a testament to everybody involved there.
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Rob Coletti
Thank you. And as a fan of the actual show too, I agree. Removing myself actually, waffle is a dick. And when I watch it, I'm like, wow. They chose the takes and they shaped the story to really make that the focus. So I almost removed myself from it. Just looking at everything else. The heroic arc of Dalton and obviously the chopper and doctor hero look story, I mean, it's just. It's exceptional. I mean, it's so great. And like, to be a small part of it is a huge honor. But more importantly, just like, it felt like a huge responsibility. And I agree. I think the Drum island arc is just. It's really wonderful. It's so beautifully written, and I'm really grateful that people are responding positively to it.
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Zach
I mean, Waffle's also, like, kind of the catharsis you get at the end of all of that. Just, like, heavy emotion in the series and in the manga. You know, just like, I'm sure for you, getting punched in the face is not always the best. Or I guess you got punched in the. Wherever you get punched, Luke Trophy punches
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Rob Coletti
me in the jaw.
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Zach
Yeah, okay. That's what I thought. Yeah. No, it's. He is. Absolutely. There are parallels, obviously, to where we are today, but Oda also wrote the story in 2004 or something, or 2002. And unfortunately, you know, just there are always these characters in history we've talked about on the podcast before. Just, like, cartoonishly evil you mentioned. It's like, you know, oh, it feels so over the top. And then you see in real life, there are people who are so cartoonishly evil and that, yes, they are rooted in real. I do appreciate that, like, you can be cartoonishly evil and also have, like, a reason and, like, a humanity to it. Dark side of it. Absolutely. But, yeah, I don't know if I had a question.
- [19:00]
Rob Coletti
I mean. No, that's a great observation, and I agree with you. Yeah.
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Zach
Yeah.
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Alex
So have you seen the finished. You've seen the finished product at this point, right?
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Rob Coletti
Or season two?
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Alex
Yeah, yeah.
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Rob Coletti
Oh, yeah. I actually, they. They offered to let me watch it early, and I declined because I wanted to watch it when it released with everybody else on Netflix.
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Alex
That's so fun.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah, I got to see a little, like, a few clips before it released. But, yeah, I just. After it came out, I waited a couple of days. I just wanted to, like, kind of let the hype go for a sec. But, yeah, I spent that whole first weekend after release just ripping through it, and I absolutely loved it.
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Alex
That's awesome. Yeah. Specifically because I wanted to know your take on, like, so when you were filming the scenes where you have to, you know, open your mouth as big as it can possibly get. Like, when you saw that for the first time, was that, like a. Was that something that you had. Had. Hadn't seen previously through vfx, stuff like, oh, this is what it's going to look like, or did they preview that for you or anything? Or give you some sort of a sense of, like, you didn't just see that top of the. Top of the mouth is going to be here, bottom is going to be here, or is it just.
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Rob Coletti
Yes. So what they did is they actually had this kind of like, like a previs thing, right? Yeah, but they had like an actual wire like makeshift stand in jaw that they, they did like a tech pause and they came and attached it to my jaw and they were just like, this is the, the dimensions and this is where the camera will be. But it was, it was literally just like coat wire hangers, like very thin and just to kind of like give the shape and the general size of it rather than like having an actual thing. It's, it's mostly digitized. Um, but they were just, they, they kind of walked me through what they hoped it would look like and they just kind of asked, what would you do, assuming that that would happen? And I was like, well, that feels like it would hurt. So I, I, I feel like as for, as, as cool as it might look, we should kind of maybe root this physical transformation that occurs when he's like regurgitating human beings and like swallowing a sword and a spear to not just be like easy and funny. It should be like a struggle still and a worthwhile struggle for him, you know, but like, you know that scene where I'm pushing the spear into my mouth, I think there was like a thought initially to make it kind of quick, and I was like, what if he kind of has to like, you know, shove it in there and you know, it's not like it just passes through a portal and becomes the thing in his body. It's like his, the line is, my body is like a factory and it converts things into whatever I want. And it felt like, you know, what if we show the work of the factory occurring? The jaw opening is like, you know, he like actually has to make an effort. And they ended up using it and it feels like more organic. It feels more like the stakes are realized that this devil fruit is not necessarily something that is just a gift. It is also a bit of a curse. Like any of the devil fruits are, but the munch much fruit in particular, you know, there's there waffle has the jaw before he eats the devil fruit. And in our minds that's intentional because he, he gave himself this thing that makes him feel more menacing than he actually is. And Crocodile sourced a devil fruit that is literally kind of meant to fit his personality. It's, it's a gift as a thank you for his financial contributions to Baroque works. And it happens to align with this personality trait he's given himself this desire to look stronger. But within that is this element of curse where he's, you know, while it.
- [23:15]
TaxAct Announcer
It.
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Rob Coletti
He does have the outcome of being more powerful than he was before, he also has to struggle through something in order to get the desired outcome of his hand becoming a weapon of destruction or, you know, him turning into whatever it is that he becomes. A giant mouth that can regurgitate an entire soldier from his internal, you know, work machinations. There was this kind of idea that we really wanted to approach that, you know, it doesn't really come off the page on the manga so much because it just can't. It's, you know, it's framed pictures. But we have the opportunity to show in motion what it's like for this to occur. And, you know, our waffle, you know, is. He is a factory. He has become what he wanted to be. But there's a price, there's a cost to it.
- [24:11]
Alex
You know, I do love that you mentioned that too, because that was another thought that I had. Like, oh, they're really leaning into the body horror aspect of, like, this is, like, when you're straining to, like, get your mouth as open as. As much as you can. And like, yeah, when he eats the spear or eats the sword, like, it's. It's definitely like, ooh, I feel that. Like, he still has, you know, nerves. That's. That's a brilliant way to go about that. And not something I think I would ever have thought about either. Like, I. That's really interesting that you all went through that process.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah. And I mean, like, that's. That was me on the day. The gurgling, like, strained sound when my jaw opens and the soldier is about to reveal. To come out for the first time, you see that his mouth can get that big at all. That was me on the day, just kind of coming up with it in the moment. And we did. We did about, I think, like, five or six takes of it from a bunch of different angles. And by the end of the last take, I felt like I was about to faint because, you know, I'm wearing all that armor. It's hot in there. Oh, yeah, it's restrictive. I had to drop to my knees and I'm like, gutturally screaming and gargling. And the African sun. It was. It was a lot of work. But the final product was. I mean, I think it looks pretty killer.
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Alex
Well, I would like to talk about that too, because I've seen videos that have been popping up in my feed left and right. They really did A really, really extensive behind the scenes filming for this past season. And I've seen a photo, or, I'm sorry, footage of you in the makeup chair and then getting ready. And just tell me a little bit more of that process, because sitting in that chair for a while can't be, you know, I mean, it's, it's you, you got to do what you got to do. But, like, you're feeling, I guess, all this stuff.
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Zach
The weight.
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Alex
Yeah, you're feeling the weight of it, like, bit by bit. Right. And I'm assuming, what, they put spirit gum on the jaw. Like, what a. And how does that all work? You know?
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Rob Coletti
Yeah, no, I'm happy to walk you through it.
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Alex
Yeah, please.
- [26:26]
Rob Coletti
They really sped that up because it takes about two and a half hours to get into the wig and makeup. And then they also put on the hood, the hippo hood with the ears and the paws before anything else. And the hood and the paws weigh about five pounds by themselves, maybe six pounds. And then it's also, it's insulated fur, so it's also very hot. And then obviously, so it's just, they, they painted my face black from, like here down, all the way down to my neck. And then they put food coloring. Black. Food coloring in my mouth to just black everything out. And, you know, obviously just full makeup, everything with the eyes, face, skin, all that. They paint my eyebrows purple. Then they, like, they kind of glued my hair back and they put this really specifically shaped hairpiece on so that the wig is coming out of the sides. And then to do all that, that took about two hours. And then there's another almost half hour for the reset. They lift the wig element up, put this kind of snap back thing across the back with these clips. And then there's like a face plate that clips into those clips that are dragged across the back of my head. And then the actual jaw is attached to that, and it actually articulates, it actually moves when I speak. So all that was about two and a half hours every day. And I mean, that's not so bad. Like, you know, Jacob Elordi, I guess, did like 11 hours a day as Frankenstein. So, you know, I, I, I, I can't complain. But then, you know, we finished all that. I would go to set, and then the armor, the gloves, and the cape would all be waiting for me there. And the, the armor and the cape, the hood, the paws, all of it combines to weigh almost 80 pounds. So they would do all that last minute just, you know, because a, it was a Burden to carry. But it's also just incredibly hot in there. The they did like a thermometer reading one day and they got up as high as almost 130 degrees Fahrenheit, which I don't remember inside the suit. It's like over 120 degrees in there. Yeah.
- [28:49]
Alex
So they pump cooling air in there.
- [28:51]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. And that's how they actually. The reason that, the only reason it was like manageable for, you know, 10, 12 hour shoot days is because they put this vest on me that has a bunch of piping, like clear piping all the way across front, back, sides. And they would just send ice water through it whenever we weren't shooting. So it just cooled the body temperature down inside a little bit and kind of help combat that. But yeah, I mean, look, it, it was, it was an enormous physical undertaking to play this role. And it's, you know, not only was it hot and heavy, it was also just very restrictive. So like, you know, if I actually. It's worse to sit because the armor would lift and press up into my jaw and I like, my arms would be lifted by it as well and I would be stuck in this position whenever I was sitting. I couldn't move my head more left or right than that and I couldn't let my arms drop. So they would get very tired just being stationary and you're sitting there cooking in the heat and unable to move and feeling the weight of the costume. So it was a lot to deal with, but it was incredibly rewarding. It also just kind of viscerally created a physical response for me that kind of elevated this natural anger and frustration that Waffle must just naturally feel at all times. And.
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Zach
Well, he shouldn't be 80 pounds of stuff all the time. That would probably.
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Rob Coletti
He does it to himself. He's the one who wants to be wearing this, you know, shooting himself in the foot and then getting mad. You know, it's like that meme of Eric Andre shooting what's his name in the chair and then looking at the camera and saying, why would you do this? But it's just Waffle to himself, you
- [30:34]
Zach
know, all the time.
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Rob Coletti
Yeah. And anyway, I think a lot of Walpole's behavior is just him doing things to himself and getting mad about it without realizing that he's the cause of his own frustrations.
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Zach
Yeah.
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Rob Coletti
Which makes it super fun to play, you know. Yeah.
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Zach
One of my favorite scenes was you getting really angry about the. Was it this phenomenon or the blood pressure thing cutting off your.
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Rob Coletti
Oh yeah, yeah.
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Zach
It's Just like. Yeah, it's like you're making it so I can't even feel my arm. What are you even doing? It's just like a perfect encapsulation of his, like, the combination of, like, not caring about other people, but also then making himself, you know, making it an internal thing.
- [31:22]
Rob Coletti
I just think that there's a good person in Wample somewhere deep down. I just think he's so broken that he can't access it and he has no idea, you know, how to be anything but that.
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Zach
I will say Oda has the ability to make even the most despicable villains eventually. I want to say redeemable, but certainly likable.
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Alex
Well, they have, like. Yeah, there's definitely a. What do you call it?
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Rob Coletti
A redemption arc.
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Alex
Yeah, well, kind of ish. I'd say that, like, there's always.
- [31:58]
Rob Coletti
I've gotten a bunch of DMs over the past two weeks of like, oh, yeah, we're going to see you in season 25 for the Vivi. And, you know, I'm like, I don't know I'm coming back. And honestly, I. I'm okay if I don't. Like, I. I hope I do. It would be really cool.
- [32:14]
Zach
Well, you would be in your 90s, I assume, by the time we get to it.
- [32:18]
Rob Coletti
By that point. Yeah. But, you know, you know, it is so great to just witness, like, how incredible Waffle's ability to tell long form storytelling really is. And yeah, like, yes, from what I understand, Waffle's not the only villain who has redemption arcs. He's not the only villain who comes back in great ways. And I'm so excited to see what. Yeah, I was gonna say, I heard that there's like an entire element of the world government and, you know, I don't know what that will be for the live action. They don't tell us anything. I have no idea. I literally, I left set. And I'm sure that that's. That's the last script I'll see. You know, I have no idea, but
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Zach
I wouldn't be so sure.
- [32:57]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, I don't know. We'll see. I mean, look, I will go back if they have me. I love working on this show. I love the people. They kind and they're so good at what they do. Like, the people at Netflix and Tomorrow Studios and the writers, Ian and Joe and the entire cast, they're all just like the most wonderful, talented people. And any opportunity I have to work with them, I will always say yes. But I really don't know, all I do know is that Oda really is maybe the best living long form storyteller on planet Earth.
- [33:30]
Alex
I mean, you don't have to convince us.
- [33:31]
Rob Coletti
I mean, I know, I'm sure. And you know, I can't wait to see as I, like I told myself, was only going to read up until Drum island until after season two came out. And now that season two is out, I'm going to let myself keep reading the manga. I've planned to dive into it this summer. Yeah, I really want to read Alabasta before season three comes out. And I've heard really wonderful things about Water seven and obviously I'd like to at least get to the time skip. I'm not sure what the plan for the show is, but regardless, just to witness the series as a fan, like the manga series, as a fan, it's electric and I want to participate. You know, I love it, but it's, it's. Yeah, you're so right. Like there really isn't anybody who quite knows how to make even the worst people redeemable or useful or, you know, or like bring a thread that you might not expect to come out of the woodworks in long form storytelling. And yeah, I'm just, I'm. Dude, getting. Getting to experience it from even my chair is just such an honor. I'm so excited.
- [34:35]
Zach
Oh, you'll love it. And the manga, I always recommend the manga because you could read that at your own pace. You could. It's like the unfiltered Oda's storytelling from start to finish. And someone, I forget, someone we knew, I think mentioned that like Oda has the. He's been writing this since 1997. So like he could have a character who showed up in 2002 or whenever, like yours, and then bring them back and it's like this big thing because it's like, wow, I haven't seen this guy in like 20 years. And yeah, still. Yeah, it's it, you know, that kind of long form storytelling doesn't really exist on like a serialized basis like that.
- [35:16]
Rob Coletti
Right.
- [35:16]
Zach
Yeah.
- [35:17]
Rob Coletti
So Game of Thrones is probably the closest I've ever seen. But yeah, I don't think even that. I don't think has the same scope and scale as one piece.
- [35:25]
Zach
Yeah, there are others, but not many like that.
- [35:29]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, no, at least, at least for what's on. At least for what's on TV right now, you know.
- [35:33]
Alex
Oh, sure. Yeah.
- [35:35]
Zach
Oh yeah.
- [35:35]
Alex
I did see that you. You were in the Sopranos prequel movie.
- [35:42]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah. A small little part Yeah, I did. I did a few days. Yeah, it was fun.
- [35:46]
Alex
Are you familiar with the show beforehand?
- [35:48]
Rob Coletti
Oh, yeah, yeah, it was. Yeah, I actually auditioned for. For Pussy. I was. That was my initial audition and I didn't get it. And then about two months later, my agents just called me and were like, they want to offer you a smaller role in the movie. Would you consider it? And I was like, I will literally push a broom for the Sopranos. Yes. I love that show. So I didn't even know what it was. I didn't even have to audition for that role. They just had this other small part and they didn't give me a script beforehand. They just had me show up on the day and they you'll have to learn your lines in your trailer the day that you shoot. And I was like, how many lines am I going to have? They were like, just a few. So I was like, okay, that's great. And yeah, they were very secretive about it, but it was an incredible experience. It was so fun. David Chase is a genius. And that was like my first real on camera gig, you know, so it was a really good time. And as a fan of.
- [36:52]
Alex
Exciting.
- [36:52]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, as a fan of the Soprano, I mean, I've watched the series like three times. So just like, getting to be a part of that universe is. It's so cool, man.
- [37:01]
Alex
Yeah, that's totally awesome. What's your, like, what got you into acting, per se? Like, what was the thing that was. Was like, hey, I want to do that.
- [37:13]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. I mean, honestly, just very lucky. In high school, I was, you know, bored after school one day, waiting for. I used to play baseball, like my entire life. I played baseball from like age 5 and all the way through high school. And I was gonna, you know, do this. My freshman year of high school, as the spring was coming around, there was like this. This gym session for incoming freshmen. They were gonna have it like 5pm or something after school one day the week before tryouts so that the coaches could get a good idea. Like what you were like, you know, I wanted to show up and show what I had and all that. And while. While I was waiting for that to start because there was like a couple hours, I remember, between when school ended, when it started, I was just like walking to go through the hallways to the gym and gonna kill time, and one of my friends was like in his locker and stopped me and, you know, just chatted with him and he's like, oh, I'm going to audition for this spring musical. You should come with me. And I was like, no, that doesn't sound like any fun at all, but I'll come sit with you in the hallway. I got time to kill. So I literally just went to, like, go sit in the hallway and wait with him. And we were just sitting there, and the stage manager comes out, and she looked right at me, and she said, who are you auditioning for? And I said, oh, I'm not auditioning. She said, yes, you are. Come here. And she pulled me in the room, and I auditioned for Clue, the Musical my freshman year of high school.
- [38:35]
Alex
Oh, that's so fun.
- [38:38]
Rob Coletti
They cast me as Mr. Green, and that was my first ever play in a gymnasium at my high school. And I totally got bit by the theater bug, and I ended up quitting baseball and just doing all the plays and going to college and Stu studying it and, yeah, just. I fell in love. Total accident. And, yeah, here I am, you know, doing it for a career now.
- [39:00]
Alex
That's so awesome. I love that. I love that. Hey, that's worse ways to kill time than to become an actor, right?
- [39:10]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. Also just kind of, like, very kismet because I honestly can't imagine myself doing anything else, you know, ever. Yeah, that's really cool.
- [39:19]
Zach
Lovely.
- [39:19]
Alex
I love that.
- [39:20]
Zach
Me too. I think that's all. Alex, do you have any other, I
- [39:26]
Alex
guess, like, you know, some softball questions, if you don't mind. I'm like, what was your favorite if
- [39:30]
Zach
we had hardball questions?
- [39:32]
Alex
Well, I don't know. I guess they were pretty soft, too. But, you know, just what was your favorite thing to shoot when you were like, do you have a favorite scene that you really liked that you had a really good time on?
- [39:42]
Rob Coletti
I think, look, I had an incredible time literally every day that I was on set. I really want to give a huge shout out to Charithra and Inyaki, because I got to work for, like, 10 days with them on filming that final scene, and.
- [39:58]
Zach
Yeah, that sounds great.
- [39:58]
Rob Coletti
We just had such a blast off camera, like, in the holding areas, making memories, and we had so much fun. And then obviously, Emily and Taz and, you know, everybody that comes in for the end of the scene, we had, like, another four or five days with them, and we just had such a great time, but also had, like, a really great time filming the Reverie with Sendal Rama Murthy, who's become a friend of mine now, and.
- [40:25]
Alex
Oh, that's awesome.
- [40:26]
Zach
That's great.
- [40:28]
Rob Coletti
But I think my favorite, like, acting day, like, the day that I got to show up, do my job, and, like, just Felt the magic of being on film and going into Crocodile's office and filming that first scene with Lyra. Yeah, that. Where I get the devil fruit and get to just demolish it on camera. And the. Yeah, that. That. That was probably my favorite thing to shoot, just because of the. If you. If you being in Crocodile's office, that. That's all practical there. There was. I mean, every. Every set was practical. They filmed on location. They built out that throne room in a giant soundstage. Like, it's all real, but the detail and the mood, the lighting, every single, like, texture. It's all real in Crocodile's office. And it was such a blast to walk in that space and just, like, feel the presence of the moment. And Lira was such a great scene partner. And that scene is, like, it's not in the source material. So it was, like, exciting to know that we were doing this fun new thing for the show. And. Yeah, that was probably my favorite thing to shoot.
- [41:43]
Alex
That's so cool. Yeah. We talked a little bit to Mark Herlick about the practical sets.
- [41:48]
Rob Coletti
Oh, wow. Yeah. I gotta say, getting to watch Mark do that monologue.
- [41:56]
Alex
Oh, man, was.
- [41:57]
Rob Coletti
It was so hard to be mean to him, too, because he's such a nice person and he was so much
- [42:03]
Zach
fun to talk to.
- [42:04]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. Oh, my God, he's just the greatest. And, yeah, I actually think, like, that man deserves an Emmy nomination. For what?
- [42:12]
Zach
Absolutely.
- [42:14]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. Wow. I mean, that's how great this experience was for me. Like, I can't pick just one. Like, those. All four of those. I would be like, oh, well, that was my favorite. You know what I mean? Yeah. Watching him do that monologue and they set up the camera tracking around him to do the circle, and he's spinning in the opposite direction and just delivering that killer performance. Oh, my God. Yeah. So moving. Yeah.
- [42:37]
Alex
That's so cool, that scene. I love you in that scene in particular, too, because you evoke. You're like, shoot him. It kind of reminds me of Muldoon in Jurassic Park a little bit. Or Dom DeLuise in History of the World Part 1. Like, you. You embody so many of these evil.
- [42:54]
Zach
As I said, though, it unfortunately.
- [42:57]
Rob Coletti
Yeah.
- [42:58]
Zach
Oh, yeah. Those are great scenes. That is so cool that you get to see that firsthand like that.
- [43:06]
Alex
Yeah. Being. Being able to walk into, like, something that you can touch. I mean, as a viewer, like, that's. I've and grew up. And I grew up in the 80s, so, like, I am very, very much a stumper for, hey, you should be able to look like, reach out and touch whatever you're acting against.
- [43:22]
Rob Coletti
Yeah.
- [43:22]
Alex
And I think that the fact that they made those soundstage, those sets in a sound stage is just. Is awesome.
- [43:30]
Rob Coletti
Throne room. The throne room in particular, all of those statues and, like, hanging heads on the wall and paintings that they made of.
- [43:39]
Zach
Stained glass thing.
- [43:40]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah, the stained glass thing. That's all real.
- [43:43]
Zach
Do you get to take home the stained glass paintings of yourself?
- [43:46]
Rob Coletti
Oh, no, I wish. I wish, actually, I'm sure that they would send me one of the paintings if I really wanted.
- [43:53]
Alex
Yeah, those paintings are awesome.
- [43:55]
Zach
They are, like, very cool.
- [43:56]
Rob Coletti
They're like 20ft tall, so I don't know.
- [43:59]
Zach
That's amazing.
- [44:00]
Rob Coletti
Put them where wouldn't you put them? Actually, what's really wild is. And I think it actually makes a very quick appearance outside in the. In the last episode when they're getting into the sleigh to leave.
- [44:12]
Alex
Yeah.
- [44:13]
Rob Coletti
There's a painting of me that the arts department took a real picture of. One of my headshots where I was just joking around with my photographer and I was going, like. And he took a picture of me doing that, and I, like, made it my. My, like, Avatar or my Instagram profile picture for a while. The art department went to my socials, took that picture, blew it up high, deft it, and then turned it into a painting of Waffle. Literally. Full armor, garb, jaw, hood, cape, all of it going. And. And if you go look at my behind, if you go look at my BTS post on my Instagram, I posted a picture of me standing next to that picture doing this, holding up the paint because they, like, had it, like, it was built to be a decrepit photo to come off the wall after years of the throne room being vacant. So it's almost kind of, like, hidden. But I, like, lifted up the painting. I took a picture of myself doing the picture of me doing this next to the picture of me doing that. Just. That's the detail that these brilliant geniuses in the art department went to. And all, like, all the statues of, like, the weird animals that Waffle would have collected and taxidermied. Those are real. Like, they. It's like you can feel. Touch the fur. The eyes are like, paint. It's amazing. It's. There's. There was no stone left unturned.
- [45:47]
Alex
I mean, obviously, that was. Must have been so fun to work on. And. And you've said as such, dude, I have.
- [45:53]
Rob Coletti
This is the biggest thing I've ever worked on by far. It's the biggest role I've ever had in any film and TV job I've ever had. And to, like, have walked onto a set and seen that, literally an entire arts department built a set around things that, like, look like me. I mean, dude, it was. It was a very surreal pinch me
- [46:13]
Zach
moment, I was gonna say. Yeah, there's the. Being an authoritarian dictator with.
- [46:20]
Rob Coletti
And if you look at the paintings too, like, you can see them in quick little flashes, but they're actually. They're like the real paintings that exist in our world of, like, Jesus. That happens the Renaissance era. WaPo, literally, that's. Obviously, they don't exist in that world.
- [46:40]
Alex
That's perfect.
- [46:40]
Rob Coletti
In Waffle's mind, he had himself painted as a Christ like figure in multiple paintings throughout his home, including the one where God is floating downwards, you know, descending into his people's arms. Oh, my God. Just. Yeah. And then the one where he's riding. Actually, my favorite one is he's riding a big woolly hippo. Like the Kehinda Wiley painting of Napoleon.
- [47:07]
Alex
Right? Is there a Napoleon one? No. Yeah, I think I've seen that, actually.
- [47:11]
Rob Coletti
It probably was initially. That evokes for me the Kehinda Wiley retelling of that painting. But anyway, anyway, yeah, it's. It's just crazy, like, the detail that they went to. And of course, WaPo would just have tons of giant paintings of himself all over his throne room, you know, Crazy, crazy detail.
- [47:32]
Zach
I've been way too into all the videos of the cast just having fun and talking about the series.
- [47:37]
Rob Coletti
Oh, yeah.
- [47:38]
Zach
And I just remember one of them, I think, like, in Yaki wins some figures, and one of them is a Waffle figure. He's like, oh, finally a Rob Coletti figure for me. And it's. I mean, that even, like, having that of yourself must be crazy as well.
- [47:54]
Rob Coletti
Oh, yeah, dude. It's so surreal. I have it in my office. I'm gonna leave it in the box forever. Yeah. I mean, having an action figure was never something I figured would be. I'd be able to check off my bucket list. But it's real, it's there. And yeah, I mean, look, Inyaki is just the kindest. I mean, like, he has made me feel so welcome and loved and he's given me a bunch of shout outs, which is just surreal and very kind. And, yeah, this whole experience has been really, really wild. Very, very grateful for all of it.
- [48:31]
Alex
Yeah, that's really great. Before we. Before we end, I wanted to ask you this. Did you actually get to eat the devil fruit?
- [48:39]
Rob Coletti
Oh, yeah.
- [48:40]
Alex
What did it taste like? What did they make? What was that goop?
- [48:44]
Rob Coletti
It was just, like, a gum gelatin thing. It had very little flavor. It was just kind of little about, like, what it looked like more than what it actually tasted like.
- [48:53]
Alex
Oh, sure. Yeah. I just love that you. When you opened it up, it was just disgusting, and I love that it went that far. It's just like, okay, we're just gonna see him eat it off screen. No, we're actually gonna open this thing up and.
- [49:06]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, like, the exterior.
- [49:08]
Alex
Go to town on it.
- [49:09]
Rob Coletti
The exterior was just this, like, sugary cake topping thing that. That tasted sweet, like something you would just see on a cake. You could have peeled it off then. The, like, first layer of the orange was just this, like, gummy gelatin substance that tasted like nothing. And the internal was, like, this gooey pudding that was the same color that also tasted like nothing. But we had to do a bunch of takes, and they just, like, had a little spit bucket for me so that I didn't have to eat it over and over again, actually swallow it, which was good, because I probably would have puked.
- [49:50]
Alex
It's funny you mentioned that too, because I wondered how many takes that I was like, oh, well, I'm sure this wasn't just a one take. And they had to, like, wipe off the apparatus.
- [49:58]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah, we spent about an hour on that little bit.
- [50:02]
Zach
Oh, my God. Yeah.
- [50:03]
Rob Coletti
And, yeah, they had to. They had to every time. Had to completely reset and clean the jaw and redo my face makeup and all of that. But every. They also, for stuff like that, they set up, like, three cameras at a time. So you're getting, like, three different takes at once, basically.
- [50:21]
Alex
Yeah.
- [50:22]
Rob Coletti
And, yeah, they had to get a bunch of different coverages, but it was totally worth it. And I. Yeah, again, I actually think that scene isn't just my favorite. It's kind of like. It wasn't just my favorite to watch. I think it's my favorite or my favorite. It wasn't just my favorite to do. I think it's also my favorite to watch of everything that I filmed. I mean, they're all great. Like, the whole season is so great. I love Jacob's arc with Brogy in the cave. I love that we get to see Brook and the violin with the shipmates singing the laboon. And the stuff with Crocus is just so great. And then obviously, the stuff with Charithra Nigurim in Whiskey Peak. And it's all just the way that they crafted it is just so expert and, oh, my God. And then David and Sophia on Little Island. I mean, dude, it's just. It's all so great. Like, there really isn't a single weak spot in the entire season. It's wild. They did such a great job.
- [51:30]
Zach
They did. Thank you so much for coming on and talking about the experience.
- [51:36]
Alex
Yeah, this was a real pleasure for us, too. I really, like, again, you were incredible. I really hope this opens up a lot more doors for you.
- [51:44]
Rob Coletti
Thank you. I hope so, too.
- [51:48]
Alex
I'm totally a juggernaut.
- [51:50]
Rob Coletti
Thank you. That's really kind. I was saying recently, I hope I get to do the convention and expo circuit so I can come meet the fans.
- [52:00]
Zach
I'm sure you could.
- [52:01]
Alex
I hope so, too. I mean, that's like. Those are a lot of fun to do.
- [52:04]
Rob Coletti
Yeah. I haven't heard anything yet, but assuming I get the opportunity, I will jump at it because the fans have been so nice and I just. I want to meet everyone and. Yeah, it's been so surreal and fun to, like, get to be a part of this little world, this little family. Well, big. Big world and big family, actually.
- [52:26]
Zach
Yeah, both. Both. It's like this. Like, it's this hidden secret that's everywhere, as you mentioned.
- [52:32]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, that's kind of mentioned.
- [52:34]
Zach
Yeah. Where can people. If you want people to find you, where can people find you? Is there anything that you're doing, anything
- [52:41]
Alex
you want to plug?
- [52:42]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, yeah. I'm on Instagram. It's just Rob Coletti, spelled as is, two L's, two T's. And I recently just started doing TikTok. You know, I only have a few up there, but it's just my name and. Yeah, you know, that's where I'm at.
- [53:01]
Zach
Okay, sweet. Thanks, Rob.
- [53:04]
Rob Coletti
Thanks for having me, guys.
- [53:05]
Alex
Thank you so much.
- [53:05]
Zach
Yeah, of course.
- [53:06]
Alex
Hopefully we'll see you again at some point in the future.
- [53:09]
Rob Coletti
Yeah, I hope so, too. Thanks again for having me.
- [53:12]
Alex
Yeah.
- [53:12]
Rob Coletti
Thank you.
- [53:15]
Fandango Announcer
This episode is brought to you by Fandango. People say fans are too distracted these days, but the truth is, when a great movie hits the screen, you show up. You stay glued, invested, part of the story. And without fans like you, there'd be no cinema magic, no shared moments. So head to fandango.com to get tickets, stream or rent or buy my top movies and series. Fandango loves fans.
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- [54:18]
Zach
Hey everyone, Zach here. Huge thanks to Rob Coletti for coming on this episode of opla. Next week we have a really fun one. Kirsten Carey joins us for our interview with Aura, who sings the Toni Tony Chopper theme song for the One Piece Live action series. What a treat. You're really gonna love it. She is a true anime and manga fan and we really get talking about not just One Piece, but a lot of great anime and a lot about her work in music. If you like opla, you could subscribe to us either on the main feed for the One Piece podcast or we also have a separate dedicated feed. If you don't want to be spoiled about the manga in our usual episodes, you could always subscribe to us there. Please support us so we could do more of these sorts of interviews and more amazing art and work on this show@patreon.com One Piece Podcast. It's $5 a month or or more. You get access to early and ad free episodes of the show, including Opla. And for $12 a month or more you get to join our Sticker of the Month club, which means you get a free sticker every month that you get to vote on featuring Steve Yurko's amazing art. I want to give a shout out to Alex Kazanis of course, who joined me for this interview and and was absolutely essential and also for lending us his art you may have seen over the last few episodes if you've been watching on YouTube his amazing art, which includes Chopper for Mikaela, Brogy for Brandon. We have Mark's doctor hero look and this week we had waffle. What are we gonna have next week? We'll have to find out, but until then, join us for more opla. My name is Zach. We'll see you next time.
- [56:46]
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