It has been claimed that Taiwanese-Canadian actor and supermodel, Godfrey Gao reportedly filmed for 17 hours straight and cried out ‘I can’t keep going’ before dying from cardiac arrest on the set of a TV show.
According to a report by Sina, Gao filmed ‘continuously’ for 17 hours- from 8.30 am on Tuesday, November 26 to 1.45 am, before collapsing on set. He died at the age of 35 while filming TV show Chase Me in Ningbo, China on Wednesday, November 27, 2019.
China’s Tencent News also reported that an audience member heard Gao shout ‘I can’t keep going’ as he slowed down in the race before he collapsed.
A statement from the TV network said the actor and model was taken to hospital where it was confirmed he died as a result of a cardiac arrest.
It read: ‘Guest participant Godfrey suddenly collapsed to the ground while running. The programme’s on-site paramedics began lifesaving measures immediately and urgently transported him to the hospital,’
‘After two hours of all-out efforts to save him, the hospital [said] he had suffered a sudden cardiac death.
His management company Jetstar Entertainment said in a statement posted on the Twitter-like Weibo platform that Gao had fainted and was declared dead after nearly three hours of medical care.
‘In the early hours of Nov. 27, our beloved Godfrey collapsed while filming on set. Following three hours of rescue efforts, he unfortunately left us.’
The statement thanked ‘every fan who loves Godfrey’ and said his death was ‘extremely painful.’
The company continued: ‘We are very shocked and saddened and even until now find it impossible to accept. Thank you media friends and every fan of Godfrey’s for their concern. His management and team were present and his family were urgently rushed to the location.’
They added that everyone involved was in ‘incomparable pain’ and that they and the family would be organising the funeral for the star.
Gao who first began as a fashion model became the first Asian man to model for fashion brand Louis Vuitton and starred alongside Lena Headey and Lily Collins in the 2013 film “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.” Gao also appeared in numerous Chinese-language TV shows and the 2019 sci-fi epic “Shanghai Fortress,” according to his IMDB page.