Hong Kong, August 12 – Hong Kong actress Michelle Wai sustained a deep laceration to her upper lip last month during the filming of the drama series Game of Lies, produced by Eric Tsang. The injury, caused by shattered glass, severed a blood vessel and tore muscle tissue, requiring over 50 stitches. Despite not fully recovering, Wai traveled to Beijing last week to attend the 38th Popular Film Hundred Flowers Awards, where she won Best Actress for her role in The Cursed Land.
In an interview at Hong Kong International Airport late Sunday night, Wai described the accident but declined to elaborate on the specific circumstances. She recalled feeling no immediate pain at the moment of impact, only a sensation of hard, wet objects in her mouth. Initially believing she had broken teeth, she spat out fragments of glass. “When I touched my lip with my tongue, I knew it was cut open,” she said.
Wai, married to Dr. Zhou Zhi’an, a physician, calmly called her husband to arrange for a plastic surgeon. She praised the production crew for their swift response, getting her to a hospital within 15 minutes. En route, she admitted to a fleeting fear of disfigurement. “For a second, I thought, ‘Oh no, what if my face is ruined?’ But then I remembered I’m already married—my husband won’t abandon me—so I felt much better,” Wai said with a laugh. She even likened being wheeled into the operating room to childbirth, joking with her husband about whether they were “having a boy or a girl.”
The injury extended from the outer lip to the inner mouth, with tiny glass fragments embedded in the wound. A plastic surgeon performed layered stitching over two hours under general anesthesia to minimize scarring and prevent a “collapsed lip” appearance. While hospital doctors handled the surgery, Wai’s husband managed all postoperative care. “For the first two days, my lip was severely swollen. My husband stayed up almost all night, afraid to turn on the big light, using only a flashlight to check the wound and give me antibiotics. I slept deeply, and I’m so grateful for such a wonderful husband,” she said.
When asked about potential scarring, Wai expressed full confidence in her husband’s care, giving him “an infinitely high score” for his devotion.
Wai reported that the numbness in her lip is gradually fading and that her stitches have been removed. She has yet to watch footage of the injury, saying she will do so only when she feels brave enough. To prevent infection, she remains on a restricted diet and carefully tends to the wound. Although she wanted to resume filming quickly, the production team and her husband advised her to rest.
The accident echoes a recent incident on the same set, where actor Tam Kwan-lun from the sitcom Come Home Love suffered a broken nose bone during a fight scene. Wai called such mishaps “unfortunate but unintentional,” emphasizing that safety measures on the set are adequate.
Broader Impact: Wai’s recovery and her upbeat attitude highlight the resilience of actors facing physical risks on set. Her win at the Hundred Flowers Awards, despite the injury, underscores her professional dedication. The production of Game of Lies continues, with enhanced focus on cast safety following these incidents.
