One of the most popular personalities in the Hollywood industry, Mel Gibson is known for his immaculate acting and direction skills. A multi-talented artist, Gibson has featured in several commercially hit and critically acclaimed movies apart from directing some of the most mind-boggling films. His understanding of the cinematic nuances is second to none and with his outstanding acting and direction abilities, Gibson has won millions of fans from around the world. Gibson who started his career in the acting with appearances in the Australian TV series’ made his debut on the big screen with Summer City (1977). Gibson subsequently went on to star in several popular films like Mad Max (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), Braveheart (1995), Machete Kills (2013), and The Expendables 3 (2014). After having established himself as one of the most successful actors, Gibson has also directed and produced films and has won several laurels for his directorial ventures including an Academy Award. Apart from producing films, Mel Gibson has also produced several TV series’ like The Three Stooges (2000), Invincible (2001), and Another Day in Paradise (2008).
Early life
The acclaimed actor, director, and producer was born Peekskill, New York to Hutton Gibson and Ann Gibson who are Roman Catholics of Irish descent. Gibson, along with his 10 siblings had a typical catholic upbringing. Shortly after the start of Vietnam War, Mel Gibson’s father relocated the family to Australia because he feared that his sons would be drafted into the deadly battle. The actor spent the rest of his childhood with his family in Sydney, Australia where he pursued his education from Asquith, New South Wales and later went to an all-boys catholic college named St. Leo’s Catholic College.
After completing his graduation, Gibson wanted to become a journalist or a chef but he eventually ended taking a different career path as his sister submitted an application to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney on his behalf. With no absolutely no prior experience in acting, Gibson decided to attend the audition at the school and he was accepted at the drama school. After joining National Institute of Dramatic Art, the actor made his debut on stage with the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet, which was the NIDA production. After completing his graduation from NIDA, Gibson then joined the Southern Australian Theater Company where he appeared in the lead roles in the classic productions including Henry IV and Oedipus.
Personal Life
Mel Gibson met Robyn Denise Moore, a dental nurse in late 1970’s and after dating for a few years, the couple got married in a Roman Catholic Church in Forestville, New South Wales on June 7, 1980. The couple bears seven children; one daughter named Hannah and six sons namely Edward, William, Thomas, Louis, Christian, and Milo. Gibson and Moore after being together for 26 years got separated in July 2006 as Moore filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.
Following his divorce, Gibson was in a relationship with Oksana Grigorieva, a Russian pianist in October 2009, Grigorieva gave birth to Gibson’s daughter, Lucia. However, a year later, Gibson made it public that he had Grigorieva had split. After his failed relationship with the Russian painter, the actor-cum-director-cum-producer started dating Rosalind Ross, a former champion equestrian vaulter, and writer. The couple is supposedly expecting their first child.
Movie Career
As an actor
After making his acting debut with the Australian TV series, T Sullivans in 1976, Mel Gibson made his debut on the big screen in 1977 with Summer City, an Australian surfer film directed by Christopher Fraser. The film co-starring John Jarratt, Phil Avalon, Steve Bisley, and James Elliott had a fairly long run at the theaters in Australia and a sequel to the film, Breaking Loose was made in 1988. In the same year, Gibson appeared in an uncredited role as a baseball player in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, which was the based on a novel of the same name by Joanne Greenberg.
Following a successful debut year, Gibson next appeared in the 1979 Australian romantic drama film, Tim, which was written and directed by Michael Pate was moderately successful at the box office but Gibson for his brilliant role won an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actor. Later in 1979, director George Miller cast Gibson alongside Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Steve Bisley in his Australian dystopian action film, Mad Max. The film which depicts the tale of societal collapse, vengeance and murder attracted a cult following and received polarized reception. Following its huge popularity in the global market, it gave rise to three sequels, Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
After appearing in smaller roles in The Chain Reaction (1980) and Mad Max 2 (1981), the actor got his next major hit with Gallipoli, an Australian drama war film directed by Peter Weir. Upon release in August 1981, the film not only received wide positive reviews from the critics but also won several awards including AACTA Awards for Best Film and AWGIE Award for Feature Film – Original and Gibson for his outstanding performance in the film won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Mel Gibson continued his good run with successful movies and he followed up his brilliant performance in Gallipoli with a string of strong performances in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Attack Force Z (1982), Mrs. Soffel (1984), The River (1984), The Bounty (1984) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), the second sequel to the 1979 film Mad Max. In his only release in 1987, Gibson starred in the American action comedy film, Lethal Weapon directed by Richard Donner. The film also featuring Danny Glover and Gary Busey in pivotal roles received wide positive reviews from the critics with a critic from Variety stating, “Lethal Weapon is a film teetering on the bank of absurdity when it gets serious, but thanks to its unrelenting energy and insistent drive, it never quite falls.” Two years later, the actor starred in the sequel to the film, titled Lethal Weapon 2 where he reprised the role of Martin Riggs. Just like the first installment, the sequel too received positive critical reviews and grossed more than 227 million USD worldwide.
By 1990, Mel Gibson had established himself as one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood and he proved his credibility with sizzling performances. In 1990, the actor had three releases, viz. Bird on a Wire, Air America, and Hamlet. Whilst the first two films received mixed to negative reviews, the latter got most average reviews with Roger Ebert, a noted critic from the Chicago Sun-Times calling Mel Gibson’s portrayal of the Danish Prince “a strong, intelligent performance.” Following an appearance in an uncredited role in Forever Young, Gibson starred in Lethal Weapon 3, which was the third installment of Lethal Weapon series. Although the film received mixed reviews, it emerged to be a commercial hit, grossing more than 320 million USD and it went on to win the MTV Movie Awards for Best Action Sequence & Best On-Screen Duo.
The year 1997 marked a major turning point in Gibson’s career as he starred in the American epic biographical drama war film, Braveheart. The film co-starring Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, and Catherine McCormack was Gibson directorial and production debut and it won several laurels including 5 Awards at the 68th Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing and Best Director. Over the next few years, the actor appeared in several movies including Ransom (1996), Father’s Day (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), and Chicken Run (2000) but none of these movies got Gibson any award. It was not until The Patriot, an American epic historical fiction war film, which released in June 2000, that the actor had a major commercial and critical hit. The film directed by Roland Emmerich and co-starring Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs, Joely Richardson, Tom Wilkinson and Chris Cooper received mostly positive reviews from the critics and grossed 215.2 million USD worldwide.
Mel Gibson continued to garner more recognition and adulations in 2002 as both her films of the year, We Were Soldiers and Signs received wide positive reviews. In 2003, the actor starred in his own production venture, The Singing Detective where he played the role of Dr. Gibbon. The film, which also featured Robert Downey, Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam and Katie Holmes was loosely based on the BBC series of the same name. Despite having a star cast, the film got mixed to negative reviews, with a film critic from Sacramento Bee quoting the film as an “interesting failure.” After 2003, the actor took a break from acting and made his return only in 2010 with the British-American political thriller film, Edge of Darkness directed by Michael Wearing. The film, which was based on the 1985 BBC TV series of the same name follows the journey of a detective who investigates the murder of his activist daughter and how he uncovers the political conspiracies. The film, co-starring Ray Winstone, Danny Huston and Bojana Novakovic grossed more than 100 million USD and got mostly positive reviews from the critics.
In 2011, the actor starred in the actress-turned-director, Jodie Foster’s film The Beaver, which was written by Kyle Killen and produced by Steve Golin and Keith Redmon. The film, which marked first association between Gibson and Foster since 1994, got mixed to positive reviews but turned to be a box office flop. Over the next couple of years, the actor appeared in Get the Gringo (2012), Machete Kills (2013) and The Expendables 3 (2014) all of which received positive reviews and performed well at the box office. In his first release of the year, Mel Gibson starred in the English-language French action thriller film Blood Father directed by Jean-Francois Richet. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and it starred Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks and William H. Macy received mostly positive reviews.
As a director
After establishing himself as one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood, Gibson added another feather in his highly illustrated career as he turned director in 1993. His directorial debut film The Man Without a Face received decent reviews from the critics. Two years later, the actor-turned-director directed one the most critically acclaimed movies of his career titled Braveheart. The film in which he also starred in the lead role won him an Academy Award for Best Director. After the huge success of Braveheart, Gibson’s next directorial venture came in 2004; he directed and wrote the story for the epic drama film, The Passion of the Christ. The film which attracted controversy for its subject came under the hammer of the critics for showcasing extreme violence but it eventually turned out to be one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in 2004 as well as won three nominations at the Academy Awards in 2005. Two years later, Gibson outdid himself as a director for directing Apocalypto, which won the BAFTA Awards for Best Film not in the English Language and Saturn Award for Best Direction. After 2004, Gibson turned his focus to acting and made his comeback as a director in 2016 with Hacksaw Ridge featuring Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving and Luke Bracey.
As a Producer
Mel Gibson, after having established himself as a noted actor and director, he turned producer in 1995 for his own directorial venture, Braveheart and found success as a producer. Eight years later, Gibson co-produced The Singing Detective, an American musical crime comedy film emerged to be a commercial hit; the box office collections totaled to 33 million USD. The following year, he produced his own directorial venture, The Passion of Christ. The film, which was stuck amidst controversy did not receive any investor due to its subject and to complete the production, the actor invested $25 million himself. In the same year, Gibson collaborated with Bruce Davey to produce Paparazzi. Some of Gibson other noted production ventures include – Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2005), Apocalypto (2006), and Get the Gringo (2012).
TV Career
As an Actor
Mel Gibson started his acting career with TV series, The Sullivans in 1976. The Australian drama series, which was created by Crawford Productions ran on the Nine Network was basted the life of an average middle-class family in Melbourne and the effect of the World War – II on their lives. The series got consistently high ratings in Australia and owing to its successful run there, it also got popular across UK, Netherlands, and New Zealand. The following year, Gibson appeared in Cop Shop, an Australian police drama series, which ran for 582 episodes across eight seasons. The actor’s only other TV series appearance (as of November 2016), was Punishment, which was created by Reg Watson. The series, where Gibson played the role of Rick Munro was set in a fictional men’s prison and it was noted for being taped using a single camera technique.
As a Producer
Apart from acting in TV series’ Gibson has also produced several series. He made his debut as a producer in 2000 with The Three Stooges. His other TV series production ventures include Invincible (2001), Family Curse (2003), and Another Day in Paradise (2008).