South Africa’s Steven John Ward brings One Piece’s Dracule Mihawk to Comic Con Africa 2026
South African actor Steven John Ward, known internationally for playing Dracule Mihawk in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece, will meet local fans at Comic Con Africa 2026 in Johannesburg from 24 to 26 September.
Ward’s appearance gives this year’s convention a particularly strong South African connection. Rather than an international star visiting the country, this is a locally trained actor who has moved from South African productions into one of Netflix’s biggest global adaptations.
Comic Con Africa 2026 runs from 24 to 27 September at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. Readers planning the full event can find ticket, venue and guest information in our Comic Con Africa 2026 tickets, dates, prices and guests guide.
Steven John Ward became Dracule Mihawk in Netflix’s One Piece
Ward plays Dracule Mihawk in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.
Mihawk is introduced as an exceptionally skilled swordsman and quickly becomes important to Roronoa Zoro’s ambitions, making the character memorable despite not needing to dominate every episode to leave an impression.
The role brought Ward substantially wider international recognition.
Adapting an established manga and anime character also presents a particular challenge. One Piece had already built an enormous global audience long before Netflix attempted a live-action version, meaning characters arrived with decades of visual history and established fan expectations.
Ward therefore was not introducing audiences to an entirely new character. He was taking on a role that existing One Piece fans already knew.
His version of Mihawk retained some of the character’s most recognisable features, including his distinctive appearance, controlled manner and oversized sword.
IMAGE PLACEMENT — after the Mihawk section: Use Dracule Mihawk_001.jpg unchanged.
Download the original Dracule Mihawk image
A South African actor inside a global franchise
Ward’s presence at Comic Con Africa has additional relevance because his career started much closer to home.
He graduated from the AFDA School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance in Cape Town and built experience across South African television and film before gaining wider international attention.
His local work includes the South African drama series Inconceivable.
Ward has also worked beyond acting as a producer and writer, giving him experience on both sides of the production process.
That career path makes his Comic Con Africa appearance useful for more than a conventional celebrity meet-and-greet.
For aspiring South African actors and filmmakers attending the convention, Ward represents a tangible example of how locally developed talent can move into international streaming productions without severing its connection to the South African industry.
His One Piece role is particularly visible because the Netflix production itself has a strong South African connection.
Large parts of the live-action series have been produced in South Africa, bringing an international manga and anime property into the country’s film-production environment.
Comic Con Africa has assembled several One Piece actors
Ward will not be the only actor connected to Netflix’s One Piece appearing at Comic Con Africa 2026.
The convention’s supplied guest material also includes Jazzara Jaslyn, Martial T Batchamen, Alexander Maniatis and Nahum Hughes.
That makes One Piece one of the more substantial individual franchises represented by actors at this year’s Johannesburg event.
For fans, it creates an opportunity to encounter several performers connected to the same production rather than having one isolated guest representing the series.
It also gives us a wider South African entertainment story.
Netflix’s adaptation is based on a Japanese manga, reaches a global streaming audience, and has involved actors and production resources from South Africa. Comic Con Africa brings those elements together physically in Johannesburg.
Steven John Ward will appear from 24 to 26 September
Ward’s supplied Comic Con Africa artwork confirms that he is scheduled to appear on:
Thursday, 24 September 2026
Friday, 25 September 2026
Saturday, 26 September 2026
He is therefore currently scheduled for the first three days of the four-day convention rather than Sunday.
That distinction matters for visitors purchasing tickets specifically to see him.
Comic Con Africa’s celebrity programme includes stage sessions as well as opportunities for fans to meet participating guests through photographs and autographs.
Visitors attending for an individual celebrity should always make sure that the guest is scheduled for the same day as their admission ticket.
One Piece adds another layer to Comic Con Africa’s anime offering
Anime and manga are increasingly prominent parts of Comic Con Africa.
That makes a live-action One Piece contingent a useful bridge between the convention’s anime audience and its film and television programme.
The original One Piece story began as manga before expanding through anime, films, games, merchandise and eventually Netflix’s live-action adaptation.
A fan attending Comic Con Africa for manga or anime may therefore recognise Ward for a very different reason from someone whose first exposure to the franchise came through Netflix.
That overlap is exactly the kind of audience Comic Con Africa increasingly serves.
Gaming, anime, comics, cosplay, film and television are no longer confined to entirely separate fan communities. The same franchises routinely move between those formats.
Comic Con Africa’s broader gaming programme demonstrates the same crossover, with esports, hardware brands and interactive gaming occupying substantial space alongside entertainment guests. Readers interested in that side of the convention can see our Comic Con Africa 2026 gaming overview.
Ward’s appearance is also a local success story
International guests naturally attract attention at Comic Con Africa, but Ward’s appearance tells a different story.
He is a South African performer appearing at a South African convention because of work that has reached a global audience.
That provides a useful reminder that the country’s connection to major entertainment franchises does not exist only through audiences consuming international content.
South African actors, filmmakers and production crews are increasingly part of the process of creating that content.
Ward’s progression from AFDA and local productions to playing Dracule Mihawk makes that particularly visible.
For One Piece fans, however, the attraction will probably be simpler.
Mihawk is coming to Comic Con Africa, and the actor behind him is one of their own.
Comic Con Africa 2026 runs at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec from 24 to 27 September, with Steven John Ward scheduled to attend from 24 to 26 September.
