FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 08/09/2018
Media Relations: Michael Payne
Telephone: 951-750-0120
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Peter Navy Tuiasosopo – South Pacific Style And Grace
Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, born and raised in San Pedro, CA, is the very definition of a hometown hero. Boasting a proud and illustrious American Samoa heritage, Peter is the middle of five children belonging to Silaulala ("Sheila") and Manava (“Sgt. Pete”) Tuiasosopo. Silaulala is a retired Registered Nurse of 30 years and Manava is a retired US Army First Sergeant and distinguished Vietnam veteran who's served for over 28 years. Peter was named after his grandfather, High Chief Petelo Siosi Tuiasosopo, a retired U.S. Navy Captain. Tuiasosopo was a former football standout at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo. He advanced as far as the NFL scouting combines, where he could bench press a record 225 pounds 46 times before his sporting career came to an end. After football, he started a family and began working as a technician in aviation mechanics.
Tuiasosopo's first interest in acting occurred when he visited his cousin in Yuma, Arizona, on the set of Rambo III. After several conversations with the film's title star Sylvester Stallone, he began to seriously consider acting as a career. Shortly after the Rambo III shoot, while shopping in Santa Monica, California, Tuiasosopo was approached by a Hollywood agent. He gave himself a one-year window to succeed as an actor before quitting his job as a technician. Football and film would collide at mid-field in his life, when he received a call from his cousin and longtime stuntman Bob Apisa, who had been in contact with Alan Graf, one of Hollywood's top stunt coordinators. Peter was first seen him in the football comedy classic "Necessary Roughness" released by Paramount Pictures, starring as Samoan center Manumana alongside Scott Bakula, Sinbad, and Kathy Ireland. Shortly after that Peter co-starred in his first television series “Danger Theatre” opposite Adam West, world-renowned star of 1966's “Batman”.
In 1994, Peter would land his biggest role thus far, co-starring with veteran thespian Raul Julia (“The Addams Family”), action star Jean Claude Van Damme (“Timecop”, “Kickboxer”), Cont.. Ming-Na Wen (“Mulan”, “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) in the film adaptation of the popular video game "Street Fighter," playing the role of Sumo wrestler E. Honda. Since then, in a career spanning nearly 30 years, Peter has been a presence on television (landing recurring roles on "Young And The Restless”, "New Girl," "NCIS," and "Blackish,") and the silver screen with roles in "The Fast And The Furious," "12 Rounds", and “The Scorpion King”.
He is now a featured guest star on the FX Network's “Mayans MC”, a spinoff of "Sons Of Anarchy" set to debut September 4th, 2018. But, while Peter has had a taste of Tinseltown, he remains humble and heeds a higher calling. Aside from working as an actor, Tuiasosopo is a born-again Christian with a background in working with at-risk youth. Peter worked as a LA County Juvenile Probation Officer for several years. He currently works as a Boys Group Home Counselor for South Bay Bright Future, and a LAUSD substitute teacher/football coach. He is currently in pre-production with a new television series he created and developed called "South Pacific Style with Peter Navy Tuiasosopo". Married to his college sweetheart Denise, together they have six beautiful children, and four grandchildren.
