“Pirates of the Caribbean” actor Tomayo Perry barely survived a shark attack

Hawaiian surfing legend and “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor Tomayo Perry survived countless near-misses during his decades-long career on the waves – but he never expected to fall victim to one of the rarest dangers of all: a man-eating shark.

“It’s like knowing you could get in a car and have a car accident,” Tomayo’s grieving wife, Emilia Perry, said of shark attacks. “You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, and then you do.”

Tomayo paddled out with his surfboard for the last time just after noon last Sunday and never returned. Local surfers quickly found his body in the water, missing an arm and a leg. His death was later determined to be a result of a shark attack.

He spent decades surfing and working as a lifeguard on some of the world’s most dangerous beaches, and during his years on the water he knew danger well.

“He hit his head in 2004 and had to have 50 stitches and 25 staples,” said Emilia, listing incidents in which Tamayo’s head was split open by a surfboard a few centimeters from his temple, or a fall in which he landed with a cut on his leg just millimeters from the femoral artery.

But shark attacks — which the Hawaii Wildlife Service says are “extremely rare” — have never been a concern for Tomayo compared to the other risks facing serious surfers.

“We all talk about it, but if you love surfing, that’s not going to stop you from paddling out,” says Jesse King, 37, a lifeguard who has worked closely with 49-year-old Tomayo for years.

Emilia said Tomayo was also a “comedian” and a “class clown” – a fun-loving attitude that helped him land roles in films and television series such as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Blue Crush,” “Hawaii Five-0” and a role in “Charlie’s Angels” in which he played himself.

“We had so much fun. It was great. He had a really beautiful, full life. It was really, really fun. Just constant laughter,” Emilia said.

The couple met in 1998 while surfing at Banzai Pipeline, a reef on the north coast known for having one of the most dangerous waves in the world. After several years of surfing professionally around the world, Tomayo returned to the Pipeline in 2016 to work full-time as a lifeguard on the dangerous beach.

“He has done a lot of rescues. He has saved his best friends. He has saved strangers. None of this is easy, it is a very heroic task,” Emilia said, remembering how he would pray out loud for people on the beach when they needed CPR.

“It’s crazy – every resuscitation case Tomayo has treated, they’ve come back,” she said.

It was actions like the one at one of the world’s largest surfing beaches that ensured that Tomayo’s death made waves around the world.

“The North Shore is a close-knit community, but it’s actually this huge surfing community,” Emilia said.

“Because in the surfing world you travel everywhere, you meet surfers. We are friends with surfers from Australia and all over the world.”

She remembered her husband as “larger than life,” while Jesse and other friends agreed that he was an “incredible human being.”

“He was full of life and passion in everything he did. He never did anything with half-hearted effort. He always gave it his all,” Jesse said. “He brought light to every room he was in. He always made time for you.”

Emilia said she was capturing the last moment she saw her husband alive.

“It was just a normal, beautiful day,” she said. “He woke up, gave me lots of kisses, said goodbye and said, ‘I love you.’ Then he went to work and didn’t come home.”