Pete O'Herne

O'Herne was born 30 November 1961 in Wellington, New Zealand. He became friends with future Hollywood director Peter Jackson at the age of 9.^[1][2]

At the age of 14, O'Herne appeared in Jackson's 1976 short film, The Valley, which aired on the children's television show Spot On. After this, he, Jackson and fellow friends Mike Minett, Craig Smith, Terry Potter, Dean Lawrie and Ken Hammon worked on their next project, Bad Taste (1987). The film took four years to create, only filmed on weekends when the friends were able to meet up.^[3] O'Herne later turned down a role in Jackson's 1992 film Braindead.^[1] In 2010, he made his first film appearance in nearly 25 years in the American film God of Vampires. This was his final film role.

On 12 December 2010, O'Herne died of congestive heart failure. His funeral was held on 21 December of that year and was attended by Peter Jackson in person, who delivered a speech.^[4] He is survived by his brother.^[4]

O'Herne enjoyed watching science fiction films and television shows such as Star Trek and The X-Files. He also enjoyed horror films such as George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. He was also a fan of professional wrestling.^[1]

In 1989 he suffered a back injury that severely limited his work opportunities. Despite this, he remained active and frequented the gym in the years before his death.^[2]