Veteran TV and film actor Peter Navy Tuiasosopo has died.
The star — known for his work in “Street Fighter,” “NCIS,” “Fast and the Furious” and more — died on Monday morning at the age of 61.
His son, Manoah Peter Tuiasosopo, announced the sad news on social media.
“With a heavy heart, my family and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Our father Peter N. Tuiasosopo passed away this morning at 3:16am,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday, February 10.
Manoah continued by sharing that his father is “no longer” in pain.
“My dad lived an amazing life and in no way does his impact stop here,” he added. “We will continue to live with him in spirit, and as saddened as we are, he is without a doubt in Heaven with his brothers, sisters, parents, daughter, and Jesus, and no longer in pain. His strength, love, compassion, and kindness will forever be felt.”
He revealed that a celebration of life will be announced once the family has organized the details.
“We thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers and ask for your continued support through this tough and emotional time,” Manoah concluded, adding Tuiasosopo’s wife, kids and grandchildren to the touching announcement.
While he did not disclose his father’s cause of death in the post, the actor’s son later told TMZ that Tuiasosopo died from heart complications in Phoenix, Arizona.
Manoah also noted that Tuiasosopo was “a trailblazer for Polynesian actors in Hollywood.”
Tuiasosopo started his acting career in Hollywood over three decades ago, starring alongside Scott Bakula, Rob Schneider, Jason Bateman and more in the 1991 football film “Necessary Roughness” as Manumana “the Slender.”
He went on to act in over 40 more projects, including “The Fast and the Furious,” “Charlie’s Angles,” “The Scorpion King,” “BASEketball” and “Austin Powers: Goldmember.”
However, Tuiasosopo is perhaps most famously known for his role in the 1994 flick “Street Fighter,” featuring a slew of stars like Jean Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na Wen and Raul Julia.
He played E-Honda, a fan-favorite character in the video game series.
But his career didn’t end on the big screen.
Tuiasosopo went on to become one of the most recognizable Polynesian actors in the industry, appearing on popular television series like “NCIS,” “Ray Donovan,” “Black-ish,” the “Magnum PI” reboot, “Mayans M.C.,” “New Girl” and more.
Before going into showbiz, Tuiasosopo had a rocky career in the NFL.
He signed onto the now-defunct St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 1987; however, he was waived shortly after. One month later, Tuiasosopo joined the Los Angeles Rams’ replacement team and was released.
Tuiasosopo was resigned by the Rams in 1988 and 1989, but he was released both times before the start of the NFL season.
