You hear it all the time: Another celebrity is coming out to fight against diseases, tragedies, or cultural norms that they believe should be changed. While it’s always good to see a famous face spreading awareness about and support for a good cause, it’s even better when that celebrity has a personal stake in and interest in the cause they’re supporting. This is the case with Elyes Gabel and his ongoing fight against ALS.
Elyes Gabel is an English actor or Algerian origin,born on May 8th, 1983, in Winchester, London. As a child and young adult, he grew up being trained in drama and theatre and would soon go on to score his first acting role as a bit character on Casualty, a show where he would later become recurring as a different character. Other famous roles of his include Rakharo on Game of Thrones, Rob Cleaver in Waterloo Road, and Walter O’Brien in Scorpion.
In addition to television acting, Gabel has a few other credits to his name. He has been in a few movies, lent his voice to a few animated or video game roles, and has even been a director for his own short film. He is also passionate about music. Recently, he posted a new song on his YouTube called, LACUNA.
Elyes Gabel’s Activism
It’s not just entertainment that Gabel has a deep interest in.
For as long as he’s been acting, Elyes Gabel has also lent his efforts toward charities and awareness campaigns. Throughout his career, he’s tackled all sorts of causes: raising money for the disadvantaged, standing up against knife violence, Autism awareness, body positivity, Multiple sclerosis, and Cerebral Palsy. However, there’s one campaign he cares about most of all, and that’s the fight against ALS.
His Story
As a child, Elyes Gabel and his family lived with their grandmother, Noreen Gurney. He has very powerful memories of his time with her, from her breaking up their fights to the delicious food she used to cook for them. Over time, she began to struggle with walking and eventually had to be placed in a nursing home, where he could continue to visit her even as she lost the ability to talk.
In 1999, when Gabel was living in London on his own and attending school, his grandmother passed away due to ALS. This loss changed his life forever, having been very close to his grandmother, and inspired him to begin learning everything he could about ALS and ALS prevention. The disease had been mysterious to all of them at that point, and afterward, he became determined to understand it and do something to fight it.
His goal with ALS activism isn’t simply to raise money for ALS treatment, but to help inspire a “culture of community” and raise awareness for the disease, what it does, and how it can be fought against.
As a celebrity voice in the battle against ALS, Gabel has used his platform to help him support and raise money for the ALS Association, and this work has been going on for several years.
He participated in the 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and has collaborated with ALS Association in other ways since. On several occasions, he has taken part in the Walk To Defeat ALS, a charity event where participants not only take a one-day walk but where the goal is to spread activism, encourage donations, and form teams to broaden the reach of the fundraiser. He has also worked with the ALS Association to design $15 patches to raise money for and spread awareness of the Golden West Chapter of the organization.
As recently as November 2022, Gabel has continued to work cipf-es.org with the Golden West Chapter in awareness and fundraising efforts, including taking part in the most recent walk as the one-person team of Team Elyes. His efforts to support the ALS Association in all ways have done much to help the Golden West Chapter grow and raise money, and it’s done just as much to turn the legacy of his grandmother into a positive force for good in the world. With that tragedy brings the desire to help others, and with his platform as an actor and creator, he’s able to reach greater numbers than he’d otherwise would, allowing him to enact and push for change on a wider scale.
Photographer: Gage Skidmore