‘Die Another Day’ actor Kenneth Tsang was found dead on Wednesday while staying in a COVID quarantine hotel in Hong Kong.
Tsang, best known for his role in the 2002 James Bond film, also starred in “Rush Hour 2” with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, as well as the 1998 film “The Replacement Killers.”
“Kenneth was a trailblazer who came from the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, and his fearless talent helped break down barriers for Asians in Hollywood,” his manager Andrew Ooi told The New York Times.
“We stand on his shoulders and those that came before him,” he added.
The actor had been staying in a quarantine hotel after returning from Singapore on Monday as part of a mandatory requirement for people entering Hong Kong from other countries. His death was discovered by hotel staff on Wednesday morning, according to the South China Morning Post.
No cause of death was listed. However, Tsang reportedly had tested negative for COVID-19 the day before his death and was vaccinated. He was 87 years old.
“Born in Shanghai, Tsang began acting after obtaining an architecture degree at the University of California, Berkeley, making his debut in 1955. In 1969 alone, he was credited in more than 20 movies and continued working up to the time of his death,” Fox News reported. “Tsang was married three times and had a son with his first wife, Lan Di, and a daughter with his second wife, Barbara Tang,” the report added.
Tsang reportedly appeared in more than 200 films. “During his 65-year film career, Tsang appeared in more than 220 films, several television shows, and was often featured in the popular Bigen commercial for hair dye,” People noted.
His manager also took to Instagram to comment on the actor’s death.
“Dear Kenneth, thank you for being a friend. It was an honour to work with you over all these years. I will miss your wise counsel, laughter and our dimsum lunches with you and Lina,” Ooi wrote.
“May you rest in eternal peace and be remembered for all the wonderful movies that you made. If you see my grandma in heaven, please say hi for me, she was a big fan who told me all about you when I first started watching your films. I will miss you,” he added.
In March, Shanghai suddenly imposed a widespread lockdown in response to reports of rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. The Daily Wire’s “Morning Wire” podcast recently addressed the strong government restrictions.
At one point half of Shanghai — the financial capital of China — went into lockdown in response to what authorities believe is a COVID-19 outbreak that is getting out of control, “Morning Wire” noted.
Some companies with factories in the city, such as Tesla, suspended manufacturing for a few days, while others were allowed to continue in a closed-loop system.