Hawaii Five-O actor Taylor Wily dies aged 56-Rishma Dosani-Entertainment – Metro

Taylor Wily has died at the age of 56 (Picture: Getty)

Actor and former wrestler Taylor Wily has died at the age of 56.

The star, most known for his roles in Hawaii Five-0 and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, died on Thursday, according to KITV.

In a segment on the latest edition of the outlet’s Island News series, host Lina Girl told viewers: ‘It’s with heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of a Hawaii celebrity who is also a family friend.

‘Taylor Wily, former sumo wrestler, MMA fighter and actor, passed away today in Hurricane, Utah.

‘A lot of people know him from his acting roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and as Kamekona Tupuola in Hawaii Five-O, but for our family, he’s one of my mom’s boys, and my husband Sam’s childhood friend.

‘He was – and always will be – our big T.’

The actor died on Thursday (Picture: AP)

‘One of the most kindest, gentlest souls,’ her co-star continued, describing him as a ‘big guy’.

‘He would look physically menacing until you just folded right into a hug,’ Girl added. ‘My heart is breaking.’

His cause of death has not yet been made public, but his former colleague was among those paying tribute on social media.

Peter M Lenkov, who created, produced and wrote Hawaii Five-O, took to Instagram on Thursday night with a throwback picture as he posed with Wily on set.

‘I am devastated. Heartbroken. I’ll post some detailed feelings later. Just too hard right now,’ he captioned the post.

Alongside a follow-up video montage, filled with sweet moments of their friendship, he continued: ‘T, as I told you many times, I fell in love with you at the first audition.

‘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.

‘PS: when we spoke last week, we laughed at how right you were from Day 1. Five-0 was our dream job. And I was so lucky we got to share that magic together.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

For more stories like this, check our entertainment page.

Follow Metro.co.uk Entertainment on Twitter and Facebook for the latest celeb and entertainment updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

Entertainment – MetroRead More