Oscar-winning actor Rod Steiger, who died on 9 July 2002 from kidney failure and pneumonia, will probably be best remembered for his roles in some of the large American box-office sucesses of the 1950s and 1960s, including 'On the Waterfront' (1954) with Marlon Brando. But less well known is his role as advocate for the mentally ill and his work on fighting stigma.

In 1985 Steiger's depression was so severe he almost quit acting. According to Steiger 'it was like a freezing fog' that creeped up. Steiger's rise from clinical depression was gradual and he went on to star in 'End of Days' with Arnold Schwarzenegger to 'Crazy in Alabama' with Melanie Griffith in the 1990s.

In the book 'On the Edge of Darkness', where famous people' speak about their experiences of depression, Steiger said - 'when you're depressed, there's no calendar. There are no dates, there's no day, there's no night, there's no seconds, there's no minutes, there's nothing. You're just existing in this cold, murky, ever-heavy atmosphere, like they put you inside a vial of mercury.'

Regarding stigma Steiger often spoke about his belief that the only way to fight it is to talk about it and get it out into the open.