HK star Louis Koo has titanium implant in his neck after cervical spine injury during shoot

The actor jokes that he's made of steel after getting the implant. Photo: Louis Koo/Facebook

Louis Koo had a new movie out in Hong Kong recently, the mega-budget sci-fi actioner Warriors Of Future.

The 52-year-old actor described the production process of this film as “arduous and challenging” but spoke proudly of the fact that his film is taking the lead in the Chinese-language sci-fi genre.

Warriors Of Future began production in 2017, and was in development for more than three years. Originally set for release in 2019, the date was pushed until August this year.

Koo said this at the Hong Kong International Film Festival where the film was showcased: "Hopefully, this would open more doors for Hong Kong cinema in the future. I stand firm on involving mostly local SFX professionals on the project. We hope you like this film, and enjoy the meticulous detail we strive to deliver."

One of those meticulous details involves Koo putting on a 15kg armour and filming long hours while wearing it.

In a recent interview, he said that he experienced some neck pain during filming but chose to ignore it ... that is until his right arm suddenly went numb, followed by his right leg.

He eventually went to find out the problem and learned that he has injured his cervical spine.

“The doctor told me ... ‘If you continue like this, all your nerves will be dead, and you will be done for’,” Koo was quoted on a Singaporean entertainment portal.

The report detailed that the doctor suspected the nerve damage was caused by the heavy armour that had pressed on his nerves.

Ever the committed star, Koo postponed the surgery until he completed filming. Later, he underwent cervical spine surgery in the United States.

After the report came out, concerned fans asked the actor via social media if he was alright. Koo assured them that he is fine now.

The actor who celebrated his birthday on Friday (Oct 21) wrote on his Facebook: “I suddenly received a lot of well wishes today, but they were not to wish me happy birthday

“Don’t worry, actually the headline of the report sounded a little scary. I said in the interview that a few years ago, the doctor said that if I didn’t fix the problem, the nerves would be dead.

"A few years ago, I did the surgery and added a titanium implant in the neck, and I've since recovered. That’s why I said I am made of steel.”