A lot of odd and surprisingly entertaining things happen around Red Nose Day, which refers to a celebrity-packed campaign, fronted largely by NBC, to raise funds to help get kids out of poverty. This year, the release that has been given the most attention is theLove Actuallyreunion that has been trumpeted for something like a year at this point, which featuresHugh Grant,Andrew Lincoln,Liam Neeson,Keira Knightley, and much of the rest of the cast. Even for people who are not particularly fond of the movie - hello! - it’s a good-natured one-off for an exceedingly great cause.
Of course, theLove Actuallyreunion wasn’t the only thing going on during May that pushed forward the fight to end childhood poverty.Julia Robertsgot in on the action, as did the cast ofThis is UsandPaul Rudd, who visited and dis some work for children at the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Maine. These are all what you would call good works but the most purely exciting element of the Red Nose festivities arrived earlier this week whenStephen Amell, he of The CW’sArrowseries andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, took on the American Ninja Warrior course with legions of fans cheering him on.
Though not one of the most tense runs in the history of the show - some of these can literally make you sit on the edge of your couch - Amell did a great job handling the different obstacles and looked to be genuinely thoughtful about how to get through each part. The flywheels seemed to be where the crowd really got hyped up, but all the obstacles here would make someone without the physical abilities of Mr. Amell - hello again! - scream for help more than likely. Nevertheless, hisANWrun, which you’re able to watch in full below, proves that much of the physical work that he does onArrowis just him and his athleticism. If such things don’t exactly help his acting abilities, they certainly make him a joy to watch when it comes to fights onArrowor, in this case, handling stunts with the aplomb and gusto ofTom Cruise.
