Perry portrayed one of the buccaneers in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the franchise.
The 2011 film, which follows Johnny Depp as eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, also stars Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush.
Perry also had roles in Lost, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Crush and Charlie's Angels sequel Full Throttle, and appeared in a Coca-Cola advert.
Born on the east side of Oahu, Perry had been surfing professionally for over a decade.
In a blurb on the Oahu Surfing Experience, where he was an instructor, he described his experiences surfing "the world's deadliest wave".
"This small time island boy can bang it out with the world's best," he wrote.
He also said that several years ago, he was involved in "a freak accident that turned into a near-fatal experience".
Perry didn't elaborate on what the incident had involved, but said it happened because of someone else's "lack of awareness".
Acting Honolulu Ocean Safety chief Kurt Lager said Perry was "a lifeguard loved by all", adding that he was well known on Oahu's north shore as well as around the world.
"Tamayo's personality was infectious, and as much as loved him, he loved everyone else more."
He added: "Our condolences go out to Tamayo's family."
Mayor Rick Blangiardi echoed Lager's sentiments, calling Perry's death "a tragic loss".
Addressing the press conference, he said: "Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected, [he] grew up right over here, and just a great member of our ocean safety team."
He said getting a call like that on a Sunday afternoon was "hard to imagine", and called on Perry's family to be given privacy to grieve.
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