Actor Seth Rogen traveled to the Capitol to advocate on behalf of Alzheimers education on Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported.
Rogen, known for his comedies, reportedly prompted both a heartfelt plea and laughter at the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
"Yes, I am aware that this has nothing to do with the legalization of marijuana," Rogen said, after thanking the senators "for the opportunity for me to be called an 'expert' at something."
After the actor's mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease at 55, he created the organization Hilarity for Charity to educate young Americans about the fatal disease. By age 60, she was unable to speak or feed herself, making Rogen realize the disease does not only affect the elderly.
"The situation is so dire that it caused me, a lazy, self-involved, generally self-medicated man-child to start an entire charity organization," Rogen said, joined by doctors from the National Institutes of Health and Rep. Dennis Moore of Kansas, who suffers from the illness.
According to the Daily News, Rogen spoke directly with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) about better government funding and helped explain statistical information, with the help of a doctor, to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA).
"I came here today for few reasons. One, I'm a huge 'House of Cards' fan. ... Two, people need more help. I've personally witnessed the massive amount of financial strain this disease causes," he testified.
"The third reason I'm here, simply, is to show people that they're not alone. So few people share their personal stories, so few people have something to relate to, I know that if me and my wife saw somebody like me talking about this, we would feel less alone."
