David Hekili Kenui Bell played Big Hawaiian Dude in the live action remake of 'Lilo & Stitch'. Photo: David Hekili Kenui Bell/Instagram
Lilo & Stitch actor David Hekili Kenui Bell, who appeared in the live-action remake that hit theatres last month, has reportedly died. He was 46.
The death of Bell, who played Big Hawaiian Dude, was announced Sunday in a Facebook post penned by his older sister. A cause of death was not listed.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share that my sweet, generous, talented, funny, brilliant and handsome little brother David H. K. Bell will spend today in the company of our Heavenly Father,” wrote Jalene Kanani Bell.
“While I didn’t grow up with a Father, David gave me all the unconditional love I could possibly ask for and I believe that all his family and friends received the same from him.”
Bell’s sister shared that he “loved being an actor, doing voice-overs, spending time with Brutus travelling as an ambassador for Kona Brew. … He went to Punahou and Kalani while our dad spoke Hawaiian so his ability to deliver lines with English understanding, Indigenous knowledge and Pidgen to da Max… made him a diamond in the rough.”
She recalled Bell getting “the best seats in the house” for their family to watch Lilo & Stitch together on opening night.
“I said we should get shave ice after the movie and reenact the scene but then realised the store was already closed. To celebrate him and try to ease our grief we went to get shave ice and my grandson’s emotion was on point,” she said.
The news comes less than a month after Lilo & Stitch — a remake of the Hawaii-set 2002 Disney hit about a lonely young girl who finds a best friend in the shape of an escaped alien — began dominating the 2025 box office.
On May 28, Bell shared his audition footage for the film, in which he was credited as David H K Bell, along with behind-the-scenes peeks at his time working on the film.
Bell made his screen debut in a 2014 episode of the Hawaii Five-0 reboot and appeared in two episodes of the rebooted Magnum P.I. in 2018 and 2019.
At the time of his death, Bell had wrapped The Wrecking Crew, Angel Manuel Soto’s action-comedy starring Morena Baccarin, Maia Kealoha, Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
