Actor and former surfer Tamayo Perry killed by shark in Hawaii

A well-known Hawaiian lifeguard who died in a shark attack while surfing off the north coast of Oahu was a former professional surfer with acting credits to his name, including a role in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Tamayo Perry, 49, was killed Sunday near Goat Island, Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department said in a statement.

It is not known whether Perry was the first professional surfer to die in a shark attack because the definition of a professional in the sport can be blurry, said Brendan Buckley, the editor of Stab Magazine, a website dedicated to surfing.

“But in terms of a high-level surfer that people all over the world know and respect, he’s the first one I know,” Buckley told The Associated Press on Monday from his office in Portugal.

Perry and his wife, Emilia Perry, operated the Oahu Surfing Experience and offered surfing lessons. According to his biography on the company’s website, he surfed professionally for more than 15 years, culminating in winning the Pipeline Master trials in 1999.

The pipeline off Oahu’s north shore is known for creating a tube for surfers to ride for as long as possible. But it’s also the world’s deadliest wave, killing some of the world’s best surfers, Buckley said. Surfing became Perry’s specialty, he said.

Surfers focus on competitions or what they can do outside of those competitions.

Perry “was never one to challenge for a world title,” Buckley said. “He was more the type who would chase big, crazy waves and have them documented.”

“For a while he was one of the top guys around,” Buckley added. “He got some of the craziest waves of his time. He was insanely respected by everyone there and everyone around the world for what he did.”

Perry said on his website that he took to heart the lessons he learned from a near-fatal accident years ago while surfing the Pipeline.

“The lessons I learned from that event have inspired my goal of teaching proper surfing etiquette and safety to those I teach,” he wrote.

Emilia competed as a professional bodyboarder in Western Australia before moving to Hawaii at the age of 18. She and Tamayo met when she was bodyboarding to a Pipeline wave.

“A few years later I picked up a surfboard, we got married and there was no turning back,” she wrote. “The vast amount of ocean knowledge that Tamayo has ingrained in me over the years is invaluable.”

Tamayo Perry began his career as a lifeguard on the North Shore for the City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety in July 2016, Enright said.

Perry’s other passion was acting. He had several small roles attributed to him on the film website IMDB, including playing a buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011. That same year, he appeared in an episode of the television series Hawaii Five-0. He was also in a number of national commercials.

“When I’m not acting I’m still quite a character, so there’s always a lot of fun to be had,” he said.

Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city’s fire, police and emergency medical services responded to Malaekahana Beach on Oahu’s North Shore on Sunday just before 1 p.m. local time after a caller reported seeing a man who appeared to have shark bites suffered, Enright said.

Lifeguards brought Perry to shore, where he was pronounced dead, Enright said.

Ocean Safety personnel posted shark warnings in the area after the attack, Enright said.

Kurt Lager, acting chief of Honolulu Ocean Safety, said Perry was “a lifeguard loved by all.”

“Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,” Lager said at a news conference.

“Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, calling Perry’s death “a tragic loss.”

The last fatal shark incident in Hawaii was on December 30, when a man surfing off the coast of Maui was attacked about 450 feet (137 meters) offshore.