The film and television actor Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, who starred in the 1994 adaptation of Street Fighter and later appeared on NCIS, has died at 59.
Tuiasosopo's son, Manoah Peter Tuiasosopo, revealed that his father had died early on Monday morning with a family statement posted to Facebook.
'My dad lived an amazing life and in now way does his impact stop here,' he wrote. '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 added.
Tuiasosopo's son later revealed to TMZ that his father had died of heart complications while in Phoenix, Arizona.
He described his father as 'a trailblazer for Polynesian actors in Hollywood.'
The film and television actor Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, who starred in the 1994 adaptation of Street Fighter, has died at 59. His son told TMZ he died Monday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, from heart complications; pictured in 2004 in LA
Tuiasosopo, who was born in San Pedro, California, in 1965, had an imposing physicality that helped him start a brief career as a center in the NFL in the late 1980s.
He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the now-defunct St. Louis Cardinals NFL team — not to be confused with the professional baseball team — and he later played three games with the Los Angeles Rams later that season as a replacement amid a players strike.
He was signed again by the Rams in 1988 and 1989, but he was released both times before the start of their season.
After his NFL career fizzled out, Tuiasosopo moved into acting, which proved to be a more promising path.
Early on, he had several supporting film roles, including in 1991's Necessary Roughness and the 1994 Steven Seagal film On Deadly Ground. One of his biggest roles was in Street Fighter, released the same year.
The big-budget action film adapted the popular — and violent — video game with an ensemble cast featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue and the late Raúl Juliá.
Tuiasosopo appeared as the character E. Honda.
Other films he had small roles in included Batman & Robin, BASEketball, Charlie's Angels, The Fast And The Furious, The Mummy prequel The Scorpion King and 2008's cult classic Speed Racer.
Tuiasosopo is best known for his ensemble role as E. Honda in 1994's Street Fighter (pictured), and he also made appearances in The Fast And the Furious, Charlie's Angels and Speed Race
He later moved into TV guest roles, including appearances on NCIS, New Girl, Ray Donovan and Blackish
Tuiasosopo also had a prolific career in television, where he also mostly played guest roles.
He was featured on an episode of NCIS in 2013, and also appeared in a season two episode of Zoey Deschanel's comedy series New Girl.
In 2015, he booked roles in both the crime drama Ray Donovan and the family sitcom Black-ish.
According to IMDb, his last credited roles were in an episode of the Sons Of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C. in 2018 and an episode of the Magnum P.I. remake from 2021.
