Hongkong actor Michael Tse has been one busy man. The 54-year-old has been focusing on his career in the mainland ever since he took part in Chinese reality talent competition Call Me By Fire last July.

During a recent live stream interview with Nancy Sit and Ricky Fan, Michael revealed that he really missed his wife when he was away from Hongkong for eight months.

"[When we go to China for work] It is always for a long time. We can't fly back to Hongkong whenever we like [‘cos] we have to self-quarantine. I was once in quarantine for 28 days,” he said.

“I feel that I've been an unfilial son, but it is inevitable ‘cos I need to make a living," he added.

Michael and Nancy

On the hugely popular Call Me By Fire, Michael formed the “Greater Bay Area" group with his fellow Hongkong stars Jordan Chan, Jerry Lamb, Julian Cheung, and Edmond Leung . The quintet were so popular that they were given their own spin-off variety show, Night in the Greater Bay.

It was only after filming for Night in the Greater Bay wrapped before Chinese New Year that Michael finally returned to Hongkong.

To give his kids, Theo, seven, and Mia, three, a surprise, Michael told his wife not to tell them that he was coming home.

According to Michael, when his son first saw him, he was so stunned, he thought it was a dream

Precious time with Theo

During the chat, Michael also reminisced about his time on Call Me By Fire, where he was roomies with fellow Young and Dangerous stars Jordan and Jerry, as well as Hongkong-American rapper Jin Au-Yeung aka MC Jin.

"I've never lived in a dormitory with other people before. Four smelly guys sharing a room, we were told many times not to speak Cantonese. We said we’d try our best, but we’d forget as soon as we turned around. We basically never went to bed early,” he recalled.

“I miss [those times] very much, there are a lot of memories. We would indulge in men's talk after work.”

Photos: Michael Tse/Weibo