Mr. 0 (Zero) emerges from the shadows in the second season finale of Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” series and his face belongs to Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello. But because of the makeup used to make Manganiello resemble the manga and comic book character that inspired his role — specifically a scar across his face, contact lenses — it’s understandable if some viewers don’t recognize him.
The second season of “One Piece” debuted Tuesday but Manganiello filmed his scene a year and a half ago in Cape Town, South Africa, where he’s temporarily located to once again as he films season three of the series.
“We left two days before the two feet of snow hit Pittsburgh,” Manganiello said in a virtual interview Thursday.
Manganiello, a 2000 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, estimates he’s about one-third of the way through filming season three on a franchise that’s followed by legions of fans who are attentive to every detail and may be prone to compare this iteration to past, drawn versions of the story.
“When I went out on stage for the (casting) announcement at the Netflix Geek Week, I had the flower in my lapel which was a nod to my character’s first scene that we at that point hadn’t shot yet,” Manganiello said. “When Mr. 0 gets bad news or has the phone call with Mr. Prince, he withers that flower. Everything’s done in a way to let the fans know that we know.”
Manganiello said he also tries to incorporate nods to “One Piece” lore in his performance.
“The Japanese voice actor’s so fantastic (as Mr. 0) for the anime that I definitely tip my cap in some small way to him and also to the fans of the original Japanese anime,” Manganiello said. “I want to let them know that, like, I got you.”
Mr. 0 is also known as Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
“Having a secret identity serves me, because even the people working for me don’t know who I am,” Manganiello said. “They don’t know who’s behind it. He’s got a lot of different faces that he shows in different situations so he’s a very calculating person.”
Manganiello’s “One Piece” role follows two seasons as the host of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal Island.” Manganiello attributes its cancellation not to low ratings but to “a rare set of dominoes (that) went down,” including NBC’s commitment to air NBA games, which wiped out multiple time slots on its prime-time schedule.
“Whether it was ‘We’re never going to do it again’ or ‘Do we just hit the time out button?’ I think remains to be seen,” Manganiello said. “I get stopped all the time by people who love the show.”
Some of those viewers are probably in Pittsburgh since Manganiello and his fiancée, Caitlin O’Connor, moved back to Western Pennsylvania, where they both grew up, last year.
“I moved to Los Angeles in 2000, and I can’t believe that 25 years later I would ever have the option of living somewhere else,” Manganiello marveled. “But most of the things that I shoot, most of the work over the past however many years, has been international. I’m at a place in my career where I can live anywhere I want. I don’t need to live in L.A.
Manganiello said he spent time considering his options for a home base before choosing Pittsburgh.
“I’m an Italian citizen; do I want to live there?” Manganiello said. “Do I want to live somewhere there’s a zero-tax state? You just go through all of those places and then you think about what you want out of life and what’s important to you and what’s gonna make you happiest. Then this unbelievable house came up for sale really close to the street I grew up on in my favorite part of the world, which is Pittsburgh and Mt. Lebanon. For me, it just made all the sense in the world, but I never in a million years saw that coming.”
Casting about
Carnegie Mellon University grad Blair Underwood (“L.A. Law”) joins the case of “Doc” in its 2026-27 season.
Tommy Lee Jones, in his first scripted TV role in four decades, per Deadline.com, will appear in season two of FX’s “The Lowdown.”
Channel surfing
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (10 p.m. March 13, HBO, HBO Max) will feature a one-on-one interview with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. … In Nielsen’s streaming ratings for the week of Feb. 9, HBO Max’s “The Pitt” ranked No. 2 among original series, its highest rank on that chart to date (1.04 billion minutes viewed). … After just two episodes, CBS renewed “Marshals” for the 2026-27 TV season. … The debut of Steve Carell’s “Rooster” is HBO’s highest-rated comedy premiere in more than a decade, per Deadline.com. … A recorded version of the touring show “Bluey’s Big Play — The Stage Show” debuts March 16 on Disney . … NBC cut Tony Dungy from its NFL pre-game show “Football Night in America.” … Fox ordered two seasons of “Family Guy” spin-off “Stewie,” expected to premiere in the 2027-28 TV season.
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X/Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.