Neeson Took Freezing Showers for the Gray Role

Actor Liam Neeson took agonising ice-cold showers as he prepared to shootnew movie the Gray in Alaska.

The Schindler's List star plays one of a group of men who are stranded after a plane crash and forced to survive on their wits as a pack of wolves hunts them down.

Neeson was determined to be prepared for the winter wilderness shoot - and he became acclimatised to the cold in his own home.

He tells Britain's Metro newspaper, "I remembered seeing a documentary about this crazy Brit who swims in the Antarctic, from iceberg to iceberg. He would stand under freezing cold showers for 10 minutes, so I thought I'd do that. I got up to seven minutes.

"It immunises your body to the extremes of cold. Where we were filming in Canada, it was minus 40 - and it worked. I didn't tell the other cast members what I'd done. There are some secrets you've got to keep to yourself".