At 68, Don Stroud thought he had pretty much retired to a life of surfing and hanging out with his friends at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.

The Hawaii-born actor had been a Hollywood tough guy with parts in more than 100 movies and 175 TV episodes dating to the late 1960s. But Stroud hadn’t worked much since retiring 11 years ago and moving to Hawaii Kai. He was taking it easy.

Then, within a span of 24 hours last month, Stroud received phone calls from the producers of "Hawaii Five-0" and from film director Quentin Tarantino.

"‘Hawaii Five-0′ came to me out of the blue, and I wanted to know if it could be a recurring part," Stroud said. "Then Tarantino came after me and here we are."

Although Stroud isn’t sure that he will get repeat work on "Five-0," the show cast him as a crusty bar owner for a scene that was shot about three weeks ago. "He is a salvage diver that runs a bar where all the divers and gangsters hang out," Stroud said. "I’m playing a good guy for a change. I usually play a killer."

The episode, which also stars Peter Fonda and Patty Duke, will air Oct. 10.

The Oscar-winning Tarantino wanted him for a part in his next film, "Django Unchained." According to IMDB.com, it’s the story of a slave-turned-bounty-hunter who sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner. Unless it changes, the cast is loaded with talent: Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx.

"It’s a spaghetti Western, shoot ’em up, bang ’em up," Stroud said. "It’s one great scene after another."

Stroud will play a town sheriff. Tarantino told the actor that he grew up watching him.

"He knew all my work," Stroud said. "I have done over 100 films, and he knew a lot of them. He said how honored he would be if I was in his film, and I said, ‘Wait, I would be honored.’"

Stroud was 18 when he got his start in the business, working as a surfing double for Troy Donahue in the TV series "Hawaiian Eye." The Kaimuki High School graduate went on to Hollywood and a variety of roles and near-death adventures, from surviving a plane crash while filming Roger Corman’s "Von Richthofen and Brown" in 1971 to being stabbed multiple times while defending a mugging victim in 1990.

His many TV appearances included parts on the original "Hawaii Five-0."

Filming for "Django Unchained" will begin in October and should keep Stroud out of the surf for three weeks.

"I’m back to work," Stroud said. "I’m not retired anymore, baby."

IF YOU MISSED the first two episodes of the new "America’s Next Top Model," then it’s too late to catch Hawaii’s entry, Sheena Sakai, who was included in the special all-star edition of the popular CW show.

The 24-year-old Sakai didn’t make the cut during Wednesday’s episode.

A Kapolei High School graduate, Sakai left Hawaii for New York in 2007 and hoped to establish a music career. A year later she was one of the models vying for a lucrative modeling contract on the reality show that stars Tyra Banks. She finished sixth that year.

Since then she became involved in stunt work and received a few minor acting gigs on CBS’ "Blue Bloods" with Tom Selleck and "Gossip Girl" on the CW.

Returning for the all-star version of the reality show was fun — "It’s pure entertainment at the end of the day," she said — but Sakai had to remember the cameras were always rolling. "You are signing up to be scrutinized by the whole world," she said. "There are microphones in the restrooms. There is no privacy. You have to be very ladylike."

AND that’s a wrap …

Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.