Why Dr. Kureha From Netflix's One Piece Season 2 Looks So Familiar

Season 2 of Netflix's "One Piece" TV series has brought in the Straw Hat Pirates' doctor, the anthropomorphic reindeer Tony Tony Chopper (voiced by Mikaela Hoover, a frequent Marvel/DC star). Debuting alongside Chopper is his adopted mother, the supercentenarian "witch" of Drum Island: Dr. Kureha.

Some famous actors have played Dr. Kureha in the past. In the "One Piece" anime series she was voiced by Masako Nozawa, the voice of Goku from "Dragon Ball." In the infamous and heavily censored English dub of "One Piece" by 4Kids Entertainment, Kureha was voiced by the late Maddie Blaustein, most famous as the English voice of Meowth on "Pokémon."

Noted "One Piece" fan Jamie Lee Curtis had previously expressed interest in playing Kureha in the Netflix series (via The Hollywood Reporter). While that casting ultimately didn't happen, the show cast someone just as impressive: Katey Sagal, a casting that's attracted praise from even Curtis herself. Known for her distinctive voice and comic timing, Sagal is a natural addition to the world of "One Piece" — fans who've seen/heard her act before in her famous roles on "Married... With Children," "Futurama," and "Sons of Anarchy."

Sagal comes from a Hollywood family; her father Boris Sagal was a TV director, three of her four siblings are also actors, and "All in the Family" creator Norman Lear was her godfather. Sagal herself first got into show business as a singer (and she's released several albums over the years), but eventually she moved into acting as well.

Katey Sagal's breakout acting role was on the long-running and irreverent sitcom "Married... with Children" as Peg Bundy. Lazy and materialistic, Peg was a caricature of the "nagging wife" stereotype. Sagal's sitcom experience doesn't end there. 

From 2002 to 2005, she starred on "8 Simple Rules" as Cate, matriarch of the Irish American Hennessy family, opposite John Ritter as Cate's husband, Paul. Tragically, Ritter died suddenly in 2003. The show kept going for a while, writing in Ritter's death by Paul dying offscreen, but was ultimately canceled.

"Futurama" fans might not recognize Sagal's face, but they'll definitely know her as the voice of Turanga Leela. Leela is captain of the Planet Express delivery ship and the most levelheaded of the "Futurama" main cast, even if she's got a short temper. Leela's character design is a parody of the "sexy alien" sci-fi trope — she looks almost perfectly human, except for her purple hair and the fact she's a cyclops. (Not that these traits dissuade her coworker and eventual boyfriend, Philip J. Fry.) Sagal took over as Leela at the last minute from original actor Nicole Sullivan, but now it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the character.

Sagal's acting isn't limited to comedy. Her most famous dramatic role is on the FX biker drama "Sons of Anarchy" as Gemma Teller-Morrow, the ruthless mother of series protagonist Jax (Charlie Hunnam). The show was created by Sagal's husband, writer Kurt Sutter, in the style of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," and Gemma is Queen Gertrude.

"Sons of Anarchy" has its ups-and-downs, but Sagal's performance as Gemma was always praised. In 2011, she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama, and now she's brought those acting skills to "One Piece."