The Avengers star, Samuel L Jackson, calls at the end of the "cruel" Alzheimer's disease

Samuel L Jackson has called for support to end Alzheimer's disease, which he calls "a cruel" disease that has ravaged his family.

The actor supports a campaign to combat the misconception that dementia is a fatality of old age, explaining how he saw six members of his family – including his mother, grandfather, aunts and uncles – fight against the disease.

Jackson is helping the £ ShareTheOrange £ campaign of Alzheimer Research UK, which is pushing people to think differently about the disease.

He said, "I have been surrounded by Alzheimer's almost all my life. My grandfather was my best friend in my childhood. It was so heartbreaking to see him not knowing who I was.

"The same thing happened with my mother shortly after the diagnosis. His mother had it, his brother had it, his sister had it, and my aunt on my father's side.

"It's so cruel to have someone who has nurtured you and cared for you reached such a point that you can not even remember your name."

Alzheimer's Research UK uses the symbol of an orange in its campaign to symbolize the weight of the material lost in the brain as the disease develops.

In a new short film produced by Aardman Animations, Jackson says, "Damage to a brain with Alzheimer's can leave it to weigh 140 grams less than a healthy brain. It's about the weight of an orange … it's a physical illness. "

Jackson and the charity hope to show the public that Alzheimer's is not an element of aging, but a disease that can be stopped and potentially healed.