Mel Gibson

Film actor, director, producer

• Born: January 3, 1956
• Place of Birth: Place of birth: Peekskill, New York

Significance: Mel Gibson is an American film actor, director, and producer known for starring in such popular films as Mad Max (1979), Lethal Weapon (1987), Braveheart (1995), The Patriot (2000), What Women Want (2000), and The Continental (2023). He is also a notable director, having helmed films such as Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ (2004), Apocalypto (2006), and Hacksaw Ridge (2016). He overcame several stumbles, including an arrest, to continue his career as an actor and producer.

Background

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, to Hutton and Anne Reilly Gibson. He was the sixth of eleven children. In 1968, Hutton moved his family to Australia to escape the political upheaval of 1960s America. Australia was also the ancestral home of Anne’s family. Gibson retained his American citizenship but soon developed an Australian accent.

Gibson later attended Australia’s St. Leo’s College and Asquith Boys High School. He struggled to find a suitable career for himself after high school, considering becoming a priest or a journalist. Gibson also developed a habit for drinking around this time, a practice he would continue for many years. His sister eventually applied in his name to Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art. Gibson was accepted into the school’s acting program and subsequently moved out of his parents’ house to live with his friends.

Performing in the institute’s theater production helped Gibson overcome his extreme shyness. He graduated from the program in 1977 and then took on a variety of small television and theater roles.

Film Career

Gibson broke into mainstream Australian film in 1979 when he was cast in the title role of director George Miller’s apocalyptic science fiction film Mad Max. Playing Max Rockatansky, a rugged survivor in postapocalyptic Australia, Gibson quickly became a national acting sensation. Also in 1979, Gibson played the title role in the drama Tim, which earned him a best lead actor award from the Australian Film Institute. He won this award again for his performance in the World War I drama Gallipoli (1981).

In 1981, Gibson reprised his role as Max Rockatansky for the Mad Max sequel Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which began earning him attention in the United States. In 1984, he costarred with Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day-Lewis, Laurence Olivier, and Liam Neeson in the historical drama The Bounty. By this time, Gibson’s struggles with alcoholism had begun to interfere with his professional life. Gibson discovered that drinking during the production of his films suppressed his shyness; however, it also sometimes caused problems between him and his costars. In 1984, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving in Toronto, Canada.

In 1985, having relocated to the United States to star in several American films, Gibson returned to Australia to star in the third Mad Max film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. He was then cast in the lead role of police detective Martin Riggs in what would become his greatest success to that date, the buddy action film Lethal Weapon (1987), costarring Danny Glover. The film was financially successful and spawned three sequels over the next decade.

The 1990s saw Gibson regularly starring in numerous films. He played the lead role in Hamlet in 1990 before going on to star in Forever Young in 1992. In 1993, Gibson starred in The Man Without a Face, which also marked his debut as a director. He continued this trend in 1995 when he directed, produced, and starred in the historical epic war film Braveheart. Gibson played Scottish warrior William Wallace, who leads the Scots in battle against England in the 1200s CE. The film was a critical and commercial success and won Gibson Academy Awards for best picture and best director. In 2000, Gibson starred in the American Revolution drama The Patriot and the romantic comedy What Women Want. Two years later, he starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s alien-themed suspense film Signs and the Vietnam War film We Were Soldiers.

Gibson then retreated from acting roles to focus on directing. In 2004, he directed the biblical film The Passion of the Christ, about the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. The film generated global controversy for its graphic depictions of violence. In 2006, Gibson directed Apocalypto, a historical adventure about Native Americans in Mesoamerica in the 1500s.

The actor was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu, California, in 2006. During the incident, he made numerous anti-Semitic remarks that quickly generated widespread controversy. Although his career in Hollywood teetered on the brink of collapse for several years, his friend Robert Downey Jr. stood up for him. In his 2011 speech at the American Cinematheque Awards, Downey urged people in the industry to give Gibson another chance. Gibson credited Downey, who struggled with his own addictions and also had been blackballed, with saving his career.

Gibson returned to starring roles in 2010 with the detective thriller Edge of Darkness. In 2012, he wrote and starred in the action film Get the Gringo and in 2013 appeared in Machete Kills. The next year, he played a supporting role in the action film The Expendables 3. In 2016, Gibson starred in the action film Blood Father and directed the World War II film Hacksaw Ridge. He was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the latter picture.

Gibson continued to work steadily into the 2020s. He starred in the 2022 biopic Father Stu with Mark Wahlberg and the 2023 Peacock miniseries The Continental, which is set in the John Wick universe. The John Wick films feature the titular character portrayed by Canadian actor Keanu Reeves. Wick is a retired assassin who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance on those who have harmed him.

Impact

Critics acclaimed Gibson for his acting and directing abilities throughout his career. The Lethal Weapon series cemented his status as an action hero, while films such as Braveheart and Apocalypto proved he possessed directorial finesse as well. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for Braveheart for best picture and best director and won a Golden Globe for directing the film.

Personal Life

Gibson married Australian dental nurse Robyn Moore in 1980. She struggled to manage his alcohol abuse throughout their marriage, threatening to leave him in 1991 unless he sought professional help. Gibson and Moore, who had seven children together, divorced in 2011.

Gibson was in a relationship with Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had a daughter in 2009. He and Rosalind Ross, a writer and director, welcomed a son in 2017.

Bibliography

"Mel Gibson." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000154/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.

"Mel Gibson." The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Web. 16 May 2016.

"Mel Gibson: Biography." Lifetime. AETN UK. Web. 16 May 2016.

"Mel Gibson: Biography." Lifetime. CBS Interactive Inc. Web. 16 May 2016.

"Mel Gibson Biography." Tribute.ca. Tribute Entertainment Media Group. Web. 16 May 2016.

Sharf, Zack. "Mel Gibson Calls Robert Downey Jr. 'Bold and Generous' for Urging Hollywood to Forgive Gibson After 2006 Arrest and Antisemitic Remarks: 'I Loved Him for That.'" Variety, 8 Apr. 2024, variety.com/2024/film/news/mel-gibson-robert-downey-jr-support-antisemtic-controversy-arrest-1235963785/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.