Model-actor Godfrey Gao died at the age of 35 on Wednesday.Model-actor Godfrey Gao has died after he collapsed while filming a Chinese variety show on Wednesday. His agency, JetStar Entetainment, confirmed his death on Weibo.
He reportedly collapsed around 2am on Wednesday morning, midway through filming the show Chase Me, which focuses on physical tasks for its contestants. Netizens who said they witnessed the incident said that Gao's heart stopped beating for a few minutes before it resumed, and that he was rushed to the hospital. An audience member at the filming of the show said they heard Gao shout "I can't carry on," before he fell to the ground.
"Cameramen swarmed around him and kept filming, apparently believing that his actions were part of the show," Taiwan News reported.
Gao was first in the public eye as a fashion model and was the first Asian male model to appear in Louis Vuitton's ad campaign in 2011. He has also been in Hollywood films like The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. He became popular in China after starring in Remembering Lichuan, a television adaption of a Chinese romance novel, in 2016.
Chinese official media Zhejiang News confirmed Gao's death and said his body would be transported to Taipei on Wednesday.