PUBLISHED ONAugust 11, 2025 9:26 AMBYYeo Shu HuiHong Kong actress Ada Choi's husband Max Zhang revealed he had a close brush with death this April.
The 51-year-old Chinese martial arts actor is a participant in the latest season of Chinese singing reality show Call Me By Fire, and he revealed his condition to Korean-American singer-actor Lee Seung-hyun in a video released on Aug 9.
"I almost died in April. I was on vacation on April 17 when it happened suddenly. I felt [my chest] hurt, had difficulties breathing and broke out in cold sweat," he shared.
Max added at that point in time, Ada was queuing to board a tour boat and was about 10 metres away from him.
He said: "I couldn't speak. I felt that I was in an abyss and falling through it and couldn't hold on to anything. I told myself I couldn't die there because I was overseas and Ada was taking care of our three children. If I were to die suddenly, what would happen to her... I felt I would die if I closed my eyes."
He added that he endured it and went to the doctor immediately after returning to Hong Kong.
"The doctor told me that I could have died there," he recalled to 40-year-old Seung-hyun, adding that he had a coronary stent implantation surgery.
Max and Ada married in 2008 after dating for more than four years. They had worked together in a few dramas including The Legend of Magic Mirror (2003) and Eight Charts (2005). Both share daughters Zoe, 14, and Chloe, 12, and six-year-old son Joey, together.
In a separate interview on the show, Max said that was his first time coming so close to death.
"When a person is facing death, they would feel immense fear, because that's what I felt. I thought if I closed my eyes, I would leave those who are closest to me... Those four people (Ada and their three children) are the ones I would feel most reluctant to part with," he said.
Max also shared that the experience changed his focus in life: "It makes me love spending time with them even more."
He told Seung-hyun that he is alright now, but the experience has made him reflect on what is most important in his life right now, especially at his age.
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