Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson has launched a new charity campaign which urges fellow men to speak out about health issues.

The Pulp Fiction star has become the face of the One For The Boys drive, which encourages men to visit their doctor on a more regular basis in a bid to boost early cancer detection rates.

Jackson, 64, has filmed a publicity video for the campaign, which has also attracted backing from stars including Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and he wants more men to pay attention to the importance of staying healthy.

He tells British Tv show This Morning, he says, "I have friends who have friends who passed (died)... These friends had cancer and didn't speak out... or they waited too late to go and get it checked... It happens that men talk about injuries, we talk about spraining our ankles or banging our heads... but we don't speak about illnesses... There's a stigma of weakness in male sickness...

"We hope we can talk men into understanding that talking about your health or seeking evaluations (is a positive step)... There are more men being diagnosed with stomach, lung and liver cancer, than there are women, but men don't want to admit that... We want them to understand that cancer's treatable if detected soon enough."