Tom Cruise has taken the ice bucket challenge to raise awareness of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). And Cruise being Cruise, he has taken it further than just about anyone else: the Top Gun star sat as eight buckets of icy water were poured over his head after being challenged to take part by Hugh Jackman.
The Australian actor, who is filming fantasy Pan, had challenged Cruise and the makers of Mission: Impossible 5 to undergo the ordeal in aid of the ALS Association.
With the spy sequel undergoing a lull in production, Cruise and his director Christopher McQuarrie took it upon themselves to do enough ice buckets for the entire film crew. They also made donations on behalf of their colleagues.
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In the video, McQuarrie explains: “As we’re days away from shooting, the entire cast and crew are spread out over three continents but we didn’t want to miss the 24 hour deadline so Tom and I are here to take a hit for the team.”
As the icy torrents rain down time and time again, Cruise can eventually be heard shouting: “How much more?!” The pair then nominate Hollywood producer David Ellison and Paramount Studios boss Brad Grey to take the challenge next.
The #icebucketchallenge drive has so far raised $22.9m (Dh84 million) for the ALS Association, a US charity which is committed to raising awareness of the disease.
It seems to have begun when Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball player who has ALS, posted a video on Facebook challenging professional baseball players to take the challenge of dumping a bucket full of ice water over their heads. Soon celebrities, business leaders and politicians were taking on the challenge and nominating others to do the same. The idea is that one accepts the challenge, then nominates several more people to take it as well.
ALS is an umbrella term used in the US to describe motor neurone diseases, as well as the name for the most common disease in this group, which is known in the UK as Motor Neurone Disease. In Britain, charity Macmillan Cancer Support has also begun to use the challenge to raise funds.
Hollywood stars to have taken the freezing challenge thus far include Thor’s Tom Hiddleston, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt, Dwayne Johnson, Robert Downey Jr, Steven Spielberg, James Franco, Ricky Gervais and Justin Timberlake. Most have also donated to the campaign, with Charlie Sheen also taking the concept to new levels. The actor chose to pour a bucket filled with $10,000 in donations to the ALS Association over his own head, then challenged his replacement on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher, to do the same.
Watch the Tom Cruise effort here:
