VANCOUVER -- Taiwanese-Canadian actor and model Godfrey Gao has died at the age of 35.
Gao collapsed while on set for "Chase Me," a sports reality show filmed in China. His management company posted a statement on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform, saying that Gao had died of cardiac arrest.
"(Gao) suddenly slowed down and fell to the ground while running. Medical staff at the scene treated him immediately and rushed him to the hospital," the statement said in Chinese, which was later translated to English. "We are extremely distressed and extremely sad!"
The statement said medical staff tried reviving him for two hours before he was pronounced dead.
People in the local film industry are grieving his sudden death.
Actor Curtis Lum said Gao had a large impact on Asian-Canadian actors.
"He was kind of like that shining star that we were all inspired by and were motivated by," Lum told CTV News. "For us, he was the first to break down a lot of those barriers."
Several celebrities echoed that sentiment, like Henry Golding and Harry Shum Jr., who shared posts on social media.
Born in Taipei but raised in North Vancouver, Gao was the first Asian to be the face of Louis Vuitton in 2011.
In 2013, he broke into Hollywood as Magnus Banes in "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones."
Gao was also an ambassador for the Canadian Tourism Commission, helping to raise the country's profile as a tourist destination to the Chinese market.
Gabriel Law worked as the audio mixer on the crew and travelled across the country with Gao for four months.
"He's so down to earth and very humble," Law said. "When you talk to him, he's so relatable that you forget he's a celebrity. He treats everyone with so much respect. He's just one of the nicest guys I've ever worked with."
The commission has also released a statement, saying, "Destination Canada was saddened to hear the recent news about Godfrey Gao. Godfrey played an important role in our marketing in China in 2015/16 highlighting the glowing hearts of the people of Canada to Chinese travellers. His love for Canada was inspiring and our thoughts are with Godfrey’s family, friends and fans at this time," a statement from the commission said.
Born in Taipei but raised in North Vancouver, Gao was the first Asian to be the face of Louis Vuitton in 2011.
In 2013, he broke into Hollywood as Magnus Banes in "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones."
He attended Queensbury Elementary, Argyle Secondary and studied at Capilano University. In 2004, he returned to Taiwan to work as a model.
With files from AFP
