Mysterious reference on note discovered near body of actor Peter Greene

A note with a mysterious reference to a New York gang is said to have been found near the body of actor Peter Greene.

The actor, known for his villainous roles in Pulp Fiction and The Mask, was found dead in his New York apartment last Friday (12 December).

Greene's passing was confirmed by his longtime agent and friend Gregg Edwards, who referred to the 60-year-old as 'one of the great actors of our generation'.

"He was a terrific guy. Truly one of the great actors of our generation. His heart was as big as there was," Edwards told the New York Post.

"I’m going to miss him. He was a great friend. He worked with so many amazing actors and directors."

A cause of death is yet to be confirmed for Greene, with authorities reportedly treating his passing as non-suspicious.

The actor was found unresponsive in his New York apartment, with a mysterious note near his body (Bobby Bank/WireImage)

New details about the actor's passing have now been released, which includes investigators recovering a note containing a mysterious message.

According to New York Daily News, the note reportedly read: "I'm still a Westie," a phrase which is in reference to an Irish-American gang which operated out of the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York between the 1960s and 80s.

The outlet also reported that Greene's neighbours had alerted the authorities after hearing music playing from the actor's apartment in the 24 hours before the discovery of his body.

Greene's manager also shared details of his final phone call with the Clean, Shaven actor, revealing that he was due to undergo an operation to remove a benign tumour near his lung that Friday.

"It was a totally normal conversation," Edwards told New York Post of the phone call.

"He was a little nervous about the operation going in, but he said it wasn’t super serious."

Greene had also been scheduled to begin work on numerous projects at the time of his death, which included shooting for an independent thriller film titled Mascots alongside Mickey Rourke and working as a narrator and co-producer for the documentary From the American People: The Withdrawal of USAID.

Best known for his roles in Pulp Fiction and The Mask, Greene was scheduled to work on new projects at the time of his death (Miramax Films)

"Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter," Edwards added in a phone call to the NBC.

"But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold."

Alongside his roles as sadistic security guard Zed in Pulp Fiction and gangster Dorian Tyrell in The Mask, Greene's other notable credits included The Usual Suspects, Training Day, and John Wick spin-off series The Continental.