"Shallow Hal" actor Joshua Shintani has passed away at the age of 32, according to TMZ. The actor died Wednesday of a serious case of pneumonia after he was rushed to a hospital in Hawaii last week by his mother.
The actor had only appeared in the 2001 comedy, which starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. In "Shallow Hal," Shintani took on the role of the character that played "Never Forget Where I'm From" on his ukulele as Jason Alexander's character sat next to him on a bench, according to Variety. Since the film's release, Shintani had become a sort of local legend in his native Hawaii because of the memorable scene.
"Shallow Hal" director Peter Farrelly was on vacation in Hawaii when he discovered Shintani, a high school senior, who was playing his ukulele outside a public library. He was soon flown to Los Angeles for a screen test and landed the part.
"This red rental car comes by and the man driving passed me and stared at me and gave me this look, his mouth was open," said Shintani in 2002, according to the Daily Mail. "All of a sudden, he turns around and stops at the corner where I was at and he asked me to come over, and asked me if I want to be in a movie. And I was like, 'What?'"
