Sammy Leung quits "The Apostle"
20 Feb – It was revealed that TVB actor Sammy Leung has made the decision to withdraw from the production of TVB's new crime drama, "The Apostle" due to health issues.
As reported on On CC, the 40-year-old actor fell ill while trying to balance his work between filming the series and his other jobs, which include his radio shows and hosting stints, and decided to drop from the drama.
"I was already in bad health and had a high fever," said Sammy in a telephone interview on 17 February. "I worked too much and my body can't handle it anymore. I never felt so ill in my life. So, I realised that it was time for me to stop."
Sammy said that at first, he wanted to go on, seeing that he had already filmed several scenes, and asked for the director to reduce his screen time. However, he later realised that doing so did not make any difference and decided to quit so as to not to burden the other cast members and the crew.
"TVB was very tolerant of me and tried to work the filming around so that it can fit into my work schedule. They never prohibited me from taking more jobs aside from "The Apostle". I felt so sorry. It's my own fault," said Sammy, admitting that he will accept any consequences for his action.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that "Tiger Cubs" actor Joe Ma has been cast to replace Sammy and will be reshooting some of the scenes the latter had filmed prior to his withdrawal.
