Taylor Wily, “Hawaii Five-0” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor, dies at 56

The actor was best known for playing confidential informant Kamekona Tupuola on the CBS series.

Taylor Wily, the Samoan actor from Laie, Hawaii who's best known for playing Kamekona Tupuola on CBS series Hawaii Five-0, died Thursday from natural causes, his manager Michael J. Henderson confirms to Entertainment Weekly. He was 56.

No further details are available at this time, though a family statement will likely be issued in the days ahead.

Hawaiian news outlet KITV 4 Island News was the first to report Wily's death. It was later confirmed by Peter Lenkov, who worked with the actor as an executive producer across Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., and MacGyver — Wily reprised his Kamekona role on the latter two series.

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"I am devastated. Heartbroken," Lenkov wrote on Instagram, next to a photo of he and Wily together. "I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now."

The EP posted a more in-depth tribute to the star by sharing a montage of videos and images of their time together. "T, as I told you many times, I fell in love with you at the first audition," Lenkov wrote. "You came in with a towel on your head mopping up sweat, and I was smitten. You charmed me into making you a regular… on the show… and in my life. You were family. And I will miss you every day, brother."

He also mentioned speaking with Lenkov just a week prior and how they laughed about Wily being right "from Day 1."

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"Five-0 was our dream job. And I was so lucky we got to share that magic together," he added.

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Born in 1968 as Teila Tuli, Wily got his start as a sumo wrestler before acting. He landed a few small TV roles in the late '90s until he landed a breakthrough part of Kemo in 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he proved to be a standout opposite Jason Segel and Mila Kunis.

In 2010, Wily debuted as Kamekona, a confidential criminal informant on Hawaii Five-0 who runs the Wailoa Shave Ice, Shrimp Truck, and helicopter tour businesses. He played this role for 171 episodes on that series alone, but also reprised Kamekona for one episode of MacGyver and seven episodes of Magnum P.I.

Wily is survived by wife Halona and their two children.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.