Matthew Yousuke Wakai was the man behind the camera for the first five episodes of Expats and tragically, he passed away at a young age, have a look at his cause of death
Expats is an enthralling miniseries adapted from Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel which finally ended on a heart touching note on February 23, 2024.
Who is cinematographer Matthew Yousuke Wakai paid tribute to in Expats, cause of death, obituary, bio, age, family, son and wife
Although it brought the beautiful storyline to a desired closure, the final episode was also meant as a tribute to Matthew Yousuke Wakai, a cameraman whose untimely death left everyone involved with series bereaved.
Expats had unresolved plot holes that fans found interesting as the series ended in a satisfactory manner, therefore it might precipitate expectations of a follow-up.
Matthew Yousuke Wakai was fondly known as Matty. He worked as the Steadicam operator for five episodes of Expats where he made reasonable contributions to their success. However, his sudden death on August 25, 2022 at only thirty-six years old due to heart attack prevented him from completing his assistance towards the sixth and last episode of this miniseries. The show’s cast and crew were overwhelmed by this unexpected blow.
Matthew Wakai died of a heart attack on August 25, 2022, at the age of 36, just one month shy of his 37th birthday and his death was sudden and entirely unexpected as Wakai was a health-conscious person who didn’t have any prior health problems.
Wakai worked as a camera operator, steadicam operator and cinematographer. He worked on five episodes of ‘Expats,’ and is remembered as a hardworking person who had a friendly outlook towards everyone and he was on set, though it is not confirmed whether it was during the filming of ‘Expats’ or some other project, when he was hit by a sudden cardiac arrest. He fainted in the middle of the set and didn’t respond as paramedics tried to resuscitate him.
Despite several personal difficulties including death of both parents when he was young, Matthew never lost his positive attitude about life. He was beacon of hope and gentleness for those closest to him. He left an everlasting imprint on each person who encountered him.
Matt was married to aerial arts instructor Zoe Li and they had a child named Malcolm who was only three when Matt died. Apart from working on Expats, among other films, Matthew also worked on Iron Man 3, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Thor: The Dark World etc.
Here’s what some of the people who worked with Matthew had to say about him,
“He was a good guy” says Zoe Li, Matthew’s wife. “He was funny, kind and loving. He was such a great person who touched the hearts of everyone he met.
GoFundMe page for Matthew Yousuke Wakai
Matthew has been gone for over two years now but his influence is still felt through his work and within those that were close to him in one way or another. A very touching tribute by all accounts – happened during the Expats final episode last year.
After the death of this wonderful soul, the cast and crew members of expats were left in grief.