Jamie Campbell Bower As One Piece's Enel Would Be Perfect Live-Action Casting

Stranger Things could gift Netflix's One Piece with its best villain. Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation has achieved the difficult task of faithfully adapting an anime (and manga) known for its extravagant visuals and eccentric characters. One Piece embraces the inherent absurdity of Eiichiro Oda’s world, though the show has barely scratched the surface of its vast source material.

The live-action show's unexplored territory includes some of One Piece’s most iconic antagonists. From Crocodile and Donquixote Doflamingo to Blackbeard and Akainu, Netflix still has an extraordinary roster of villains to introduce. However, one in particular stands out over the rest due to his immense live-action potential.

Jamie Campbell Bower's Vecna Performance Makes Him Ideal For An Anime Character Casting

Jamie Campbell Bower Has Earned Himself Another Scary Villain Role

Jamie Campbell Bower delivers what is arguably the most compelling performance in Stranger Things with his menacing Vecna portrayal. Bower's Vecna is terrifying as a classic horror monster, but it's his rage and quiet cruelty as a human being that feels disturbingly believable. Unlike many genre villains who rely on spectacle or exaggerated behavior, Jamie Campbell Bower constructs a character whose silent presence alone generates tension.

Vecna's best moments come from his most subdued scenes. Vecna invades his victims' minds and weaponizes their fear, creating a form of horror that feels much more personal than spectacular. This effect is amplified by Bower’s human portrayal, whose subtle shifts in tone and expression suggest a calculating intelligence beneath the supernatural exterior. Even when Vecna isn't actively causing chaos, his aura of control and inevitability makes him feel omnipresent.

Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna performance displays the actor's ability to balance theatrical intensity with emotional restraint, an essential skill for translating larger-than-life characters into live action without reducing them to caricatures. With the gradual rise of live-action anime adaptations, new movies and shows need actors who are capable of making heightened worlds feel grounded but still faithful to the source material's fantastical nature. Jamie Campbell Bower would easily fit a villainous character who preserves his human complexity in this genre.

Jamie Campbell Bower Would Be Perfect As One Piece's Enel

Enel Needs To Be As Quietly Terrifying As Vecna

Enel is a self-proclaimed god whose arrogance, detachment, and messianic delusions make him as psychologically unsettling as he is physically unstoppable. He genuinely believes in his divine status, which makes his cruelty feel almost casual. A live-action Enel portrayal would therefore require an actor capable of balancing calm superiority with sudden flashes of sadistic intensity to translate traditional anime exaggeration realistically without stripping the character of his larger-than-life personality.

In Stranger Things, Jamie Campbell Bower's Vecna shifts between human vulnerability and supernatural menace. Beyond Vecna, Bower has plenty of experience in gothic fantasy, appearing in franchises like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Mortal Instruments. Jamie Campbell Bower has consistently shown his aptitude for playing characters who exist on the edge of humanity and monstrosity, which makes him the right choice for a character like Enel, whose god complex is expressed through chilling, serene cruelty.

Netflix’s One Piece has nailed its casting. Iñaki Godoy's Luffy, Mackenyu's Zoro, Emily Rudd's Nami, and other iconic characters feel stripped straight out of the manga and anime, but they don't come across as amateur cosplayers or caricatures of their animated counterparts. Expectations for future casting choices are logically high. Decisions such as Jamie Campbell Bower as Enel would be logistically realistic on top of inspired, coming off of Stranger Things' farewell to its cast.

Which Other Actors Could Play Enel In One Piece

Netflix's One Piece May Surprise Fans With Its Enel Casting

Besides Jamie Campbell Bower, several A-list actors possess the intensity and eccentricity required to portray Enel in live-action. Mads Mikkelsen could deliver a chillingly restrained version of the character similar to his iconic Hannibal portrayal. Bill Skarsgård, known for his dramatic physicality as Pennywise, could lean into Enel’s alien presence and twisted charisma. Adam Driver might bring a tragic, operatic edge to the character, while Robert Pattinson could reinterpret Enel as an eerie, almost vampiric figure.

Long-time fancasts and unconventional picks also reveal how flexible Enel’s archetype truly is. Eminem, despite being an unlikely choice, has often been cited by fans because of his piercing gaze and stonefaced attitude. Unexpected casting choices like Rami Malek could highlight Enel’s almost otherworldly presence, while genre veterans like Lee Pace or Antony Starr could amplify Enel's god complex by doubling down on his villainy.

Ultimately, Enel is the kind of character whose success depends less on fame and more on interpretation. Netflix's One Piece has demonstrated that inspired casting choices aren't always the most obvious at first glance. If Netflix's Once Piece adapts Enel soon, the most likely outcome would probably be a bold, unexpected pick that initially surprises viewers and, over time, becomes so convincing that fans can no longer imagine anyone else playing the self-proclaimed god of Skypiea.