EP 137: Charithra Chandran Talks Becoming Vivi in One Piece, Racist Backlash, and Teases Season 3
EP 137: Charithra Chandran Talks Becoming Vivi in One Piece, Racist Backlash, and Teases Season 3  
Podcast: THE WAYNE AYERS PODCAST
Published On: Thu Mar 12 2026
Description: This week on The Wayne Ayers Podcast, Charithra Chandran is joined by host Wayne Ayers for an insightful, in-depth conversation about her experience stepping into the much-loved role of Vivi in Netflix's live-action One Piece series and her journey from enigmatic Miss Wednesday to heroic princess.Charithra opens up about her experience with Vivi's big reveal and whether this change allowed her to access a whole new world of emotional range and acting ability. Wayne talks about his own experience watching this change on screen and then asks Charithra about her own experience with her transformation from mysterious Baroque Works agent to the heart of the Straw Hats' quest.The podcast then discusses Charithra's relationship with the Straw Hats. Charithra talks about what Vivi learned from her time with the Straw Hats and what the Straw Hats learned from Vivi. The podcast then goes on to discuss the fantastic relationship between Vivi and Nami in season two, which leads to a discussion of Charithra's relationship with Emily Rudd and how this friendship helped bring some of the most powerful scenes from season two to life.Charithra then goes on to discuss her experiences on set in South Africa, talking about what the cast did during downtime and how the set felt like a big family gathering.Wayne also touches on online discourse about Vivi's role in the show, including backlash from some fans. Charithra talks about her experiences with skeptics becoming fans and what she hopes she might say to the new generation of Vivi fans through the live-action series.For fans of the One Piece series, the episode goes in-depth on the Alabasta arc. Charithra talks about the anime scenes she is most excited to bring to life. Wayne even poses a few fun hypotheticals about whether Vivi might meet Ace in a future season of the show, what kind of Devil Fruit abilities she would want if she had a choice, and how she would handle running Baroque Works herself.The episode wraps up with fan questions combining both of Charithra's fandoms. She talks about which Bridgerton character would thrive in the Straw Hat crew, which member of the Straw Hat crew would be allowed to babysit Karoo, and what role she would play if she were suddenly inserted into the wild world of pirates, marines, and revolutionaries.It is a fun and thought-provoking episode full of love for the fandom. It talks about Vivi's heart, the magic of the One Piece cast, and the excitement of seeing a character she loves come to life.