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When Netflix confirmed that One Piece season two was in the works, the biggest question on every fan’s mind was how the series would handle the introduction of Tony Tony Chopper. However, due to the intense secrecy around the show’s casting process, Superman and Beef star Mikaela Hoover didn’t realize who she was actually auditioning for – and she even passed on the audition because it was so vague about who she would be playing. However, Netflix was insistent that Hoover was the right person for the role of Tony Tony Chopper.

While promoting her role as Cat Grant in Superman, Mikaela Hoover explained that she originally said no to even auditioning for Chopper in One Piece because the information they sent to her agent was so vague. “So when I got the audition for One Piece, I was filming [Netflix's] Beef, and I really just wanted to focus on 'Beef.' I got an audition from my voice-over agent, Stephanie, who was so nice through all of this, and I said, 'I'm passing on this, Stephanie. I need to really be focused on 'Beef.' It’s crazy to think about now, but they don't have a breakdown of what it's for. When they give you those things, they don't give you, like, 'This is for One Piece and Chopper,' so I had no idea what it was for, and I just wanted to really focus on Beef.”

What changed her mind? Well, turns out Netflix had really wanted to hear Hoover’s take on Tony Tony Chopper and came back to ask her again to read for it. “Stephanie said, 'Hey, casting specifically asked for you for your voice for this.' And I was like, 'Okay. I'll take a look.' And again, it didn't have the breakdown. I mean, it had a breakdown of the character, but it didn't say where the character was, it didn't say what it was for. But when I read the sides for him, I was like, 'Oh, this is me.' I felt so connected to this character, so that when I was auditioning for it, I was having so much fun. And again, that was coming alive in me again, of why I did this in the first place and why I chose this to be my career path. So, I was having so much fun auditioning for him.”

You’ll notice that, at no point, did they tell Mikaela Hoover who she was playing, even after insisting that she audition. The description they provided for Tony Tony Chopper was “a strange little forest creature that had been kind of picked on his whole life,” according to Hoover. She didn’t find out who she was playing on One Piece until she got a callback over Zoom.

So maybe the lesson here is if your agent insists that you read for a part, make sure you read for the part even if you don’t know exactly who it is going to be for.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"