Actor and model Godfrey Gao suddenly collapsed and died while filming on set in China on Wednesday.
Gao was in the middle of filming the physically challenging competition show Chase Me when he passed out and suffered a heart attack, according to the Associated Press.
Medical personnel tried to resuscitate the Taiwanese-Canadian star on the set and rushed him immediately to the hospital where he was officially pronounced dead. The 35-year-old’s death was confirmed by his agency JetStar Entertainment on social media.
“Unfortunately, following three hours of medical rescue efforts, he left us,” JetStar Entertainment said in the statement. “We are shocked and saddened and even until now find it impossible to accept.”
The production team released the following statement:
During the 9th week of filming for Chase Me on November 27th, the guest for this week, Godfrey Gao, was running and suddenly fell to the ground slowly. The show’s on site medical staff started to treat him right away and immediately sent him to the hospital. After two hours of using their best efforts to save him, the doctors finally announced Godfrey Gao died from sudden cardiac death. We feel incomparable pain and extreme sadness!
Fans and industry peers online are voicing their disdain for the Chinese reality TV series. Some people are saying that the show pushes people beyond their physical limits inducing serious risk to their health. Gao reportedly had been filming for 17 hours straight before passing away.
“The #ChaseMe show needs to take responsibility for their negligence,” said Luna, a fan of Gao’s. “A man’s life was cut short due to unreasonable filming conditions and extreme physical demands. If Godfrey Gao wasn’t pushed so hard during those 17 hours of filming, he’d more than likely still be here with us.”
Gao’s management team confirmed that there were no signs of illness and Gao was a regular exerciser.
Gao first broke onto the scene as a model. He was the first Asian man to model in a Louis Vuitton ad campaign. Later, he would lead a successful TV career in Asia with appearances in Momo Love, God of War Zhao Yun and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
Many of his fans and peers posted their condolences on social media.
