Samoan actor Pua Magasiva was a popular performer on the New Zealand soap opera "Shortland Street" (TVNZ 2, 1992- ) and the kids' action series "Power Rangers Ninja Storm" (ABC Kids, 2003) whose promising career was cut short by his untimely death in 2019. Born August 10, 1980 in Apia, the capital city of Samoa, he and his three siblings - which included his older brother, actor/comedian Robbie Magasiva - were raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Robbie's success with the comedy troupe the Naked Samoans and in films like "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002) spurred Pua to try his hand at acting, and after acquiring an agent, he began appearing in minor roles in films and on television. These included a brief appearance on the long-running soap "Shortland Street," in 1999; four years later, he would return to the series as Vinnie Kruse, a Samoan nurse and later paramedic who became one of the show's most popular characters. Initially slated as a comic relief figure, Kruse eventually became a heartthrob in several romantic storylines, which endeared him to the show's sizable audience. While appearing on "Shortland," Magasiva also starred as Shane Clarke the Red Wind Ranger on "Power Rangers Ninja Storm," which was part of the long-running "Power Rangers" superhero franchise. After completing "Ninja Storm" and its immediate follow-up, "Power Rangers Dino Thunder" (ABC Kids, 2004), Magasiva left "Shortland" in 2006 to try his hand at feature films. He co-starred with his brother Robbie as one of four troublemaking friends in the comedy "Sione's Wedding" (2006), and enjoyed supporting roles in the Sam Raimi-producer horror film "30 Days of Night" (2007) and the critically praised New Zealand drama "Matariki" (2010), but by 2011, had returned to "Shortland" to reprise Vinnie Kruse. He would remain with the soap until 2018 while also serving as co-host for a popular morning radio program on the New Zealand hip-hop radio station Flava, but a series of charges for driving under the influence led to his departure from the station and the series. On May 11, 2019, the 38-year-old Magasiva was found dead in his home of undisclosed causes.