Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby talk pirate facial hair and sword fighting for Our Flag Means Death

Avast! Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi will soon be setting sail.

The two New Zealanders star in HBO Max's upcoming series Our Flag Means Death, a quirky, swashbuckling saga that's part bloodthirsty pirate tale, part awkward workplace comedy. Created by David Jenkins, the series is loosely — very loosely — based on the real-life exploits of 18th-century pirate Stede Bonnet (Darby), who abandoned a life of privilege to pursue piracy on the high seas. As he bumbles his way across the ocean, he soon attracts the attention of the era's most infamous marauder, Blackbeard (Waititi).

Ahead of the series' premiere on March 3, EW caught up with Darby, Waititi, and Jenkins, who have an easy camaraderie and playfulness together that only develops from a long friendship. Darby and Waititi have a particular history together: The pair have been friends for more than a decade, and Waititi has directed Darby in beloved past projects like Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows. But Our Flag Means Death marks the most screen time they've shared together.

"We actually got to work as actors together because normally he's behind the camera yelling at me," Darby tells EW with a laugh. "That was really fun because we have the same sense of humor, and we like to joke around a lot, and now we've got an excuse to do it on screen. The challenge really became when we started to do the dramatic stuff because there's some heartfelt drama in there, and neither of us had done that with each other. Comedy is very easy for us, but that was a challenge."

"We know each other's sensibilities," adds Waititi, who also directed the first episode. "As Rhys was saying, we have a very similar style as well. When it comes to the banter and also the fun stuff, we would do a lot of improvising together. That was a really fun, safe space for us to feel like younger versions of ourselves. We were just mates hanging out again and just jamming. I didn't want those scenes to end."

The series follows Stede as he makes his first forays into piracy, and he and Blackbeard soon discover that they both have distinctly different approaches: Stede is eager to brand himself as the elegant and conscientious "Gentleman Pirate," while Blackbeard is an acolyte of the more classic school of stabbing/plundering/marauding. Since Our Flag Means Death is a loose, comedic adaptation of Stede's story, neither Waititi nor Darby immersed themselves in historical research, but they did take the time to brush up on their pirate skills. Darby points out that he learned to both sail and sword fight, and he relished the chance to do as many of his own stunts as possible — even the simple ones.

"[I was] going down a rope ladder and had people worried, like, 'Oh my god, he's going down a rope ladder!'" Darby explains. "Guys, I used to be a soldier. I can go down a rope ladder."

As for Waititi, he had to face a particularly hairy challenge: Blackbeard's infamous facial hair.

"It was very annoying to wear the beard and the wig," Waititi admits. "No one ever likes it. Also, you can't have a real conversation with someone because all the glue keeps your whole face tight, and as soon as you actually smile properly, it breaks all the glue and things start peeling off."

Watch the full Our Flag Means Death interview above.

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