New Zealand actor Pete Smith, best known for his appearances in Once Were Warriors and The Piano, has died at the age of 63. For the international audience, he is best known for his role as an orc in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" in 2003.

The actor Best Performance by a Supporting Actor at the Air New Zealand Screen Awards for his role in "The Market" in 2006. He also received a massive award for his performance in the drama "Flight of the Albatross."

Based on local reports, he died on Saturday after a protracted struggle with renal illness. His son Poumau Papali'i-Smith told Stuff his father had been ill for a very long time already. Still, his loss is gravely felt.

Mona Papali'i and their six children are Smith's only surviving family members.

"For the last seven years he'd been on dialysis which took its toll on him over the years. Within the last two years he was also diagnosed with dementia," his son said. "We started doing dialysis at home but over the last few weeks he suffered an infection which he fought for the last four weeks," he added.

He described his father's death as a tragedy for the family and the neighborhood.

A character named Api was Smith's first role in the 1985 New Zealand film "The Quiet Earth."

Additionally, he has appeared in such films such as "The Piano," "Once Were Warriors," and "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted," in addition to the soap opera Shortland Street.

Smith discovered acting when he was invited to join his father's tangi on the marae. He enrolled in a Don Selwyn-taught theatre class in order to reclaim his roots and lead a "better life." Plainclothes, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, and The Market were more of his notable works. Smith co-created and hosted the gardening show "Maramataka - Once Were Gardeners" in the Far North and starred in the 2010 film Hugh and Heke.

On June 6, 2006, Pete Smith and Mona Papali'i launched their production firm, Puriri Productions, in Te Waha Nui. He said this on the monumental event, "The dynamic for me was 'what can I contribute?' The whole community was contributing to the upbringing of my kids ... all producing strong upstanding kids. I thought 'let's have a film company in Kaitaia. Let's be the first ones'."