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Taylor Willie, the sumo wrestler turned-Hawaii Five-0 The actor died on Thursday, June 20, according to local Hawaii television outlet KITV. He was 56 years old.
Although details regarding the death—its location and cause—were not immediately known, his death was confirmed by Peter M. Lenkov, executive producer of the 2010–2020 series. Hawaii Five-0 Reboot.
At first, I posted a message on Instagram that simply said: “I’m devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later.” “It’s so hard right now,” Lenkov continued with a longer post, addressing Willie directly:
“T, as I’ve told you many times, I fell in love with you at the first audition. You came with a towel on your head wiping the sweat, and I was mesmerized. You charmed me into making you a regular…on the show…and in my life. You were family. And I’ll miss you every day, T.” my brother.
“PS: When we talked last week, we laughed about how right you have been from day one. Five-0 It was our dream job. And I was so lucky that we were able to share that magic together.
Born Taila Tuli on June 14, 1968, Willie was from Laie, Hawaii and was of American Samoan descent. Before becoming an actor, he was a successful and popular sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. After leaving sumo, Willie began competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing as Tayla Tuli in his first UFC bout in November 1993.
His first notable acting role in a major film came in a comedy Forget about Sarah Marshall In 2008, he played a hotel worker who befriends Jason Segel’s main character, Peter Breiter. Two years later, he was cast in a recurring role Hawaii Five-0 as Detective Kamekona, a character he would play for the next ten years on the show.
He played the same character in seven episodes Magnum P From 2018 to 2020.
Willie is survived by his wife, Halona, and their two children.
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