Born to Hutton Gibson and Anne Reilly Gibson, Mel is the
sixth of eleven children. In 1968, when Gibson was 12-years-old, the
family emigrated to Sydney, Australia.
His
father had won $21,000 as a contestant on international game show
‘Jeopardy’ and had also received $145,000 compensation for a 1964 work
accident that had caused him to lose his job as brakeman for New York
City Railroad.
It was an opportunity for Hutton to get his sons
away from the cultural changes of 1960s America, which he felt were
immoral. He chose Australia, as it was his wife’s homeland, her mother
having been an opera singer who had emigrated to the US years before,
and she had extended family living there. Gibson kept his American
citizenship and acquired an Australian accent.
Gibson attended
school at St Leo’s College, run by Christian Brothers but constantly
rebelled against their rules. His exasperated father eventually moved
him to Asquith High state school, where he settled in to become a
typical Aussie teenager. Gibson had no particular vocational yearning,
thinking perhaps he may become a priest at one stage and then
considering journalism. Extremely shy, he dated little, and usually took
his friends along for moral support. He did however enjoy elaborately
staged practical jokes and was an excellent mimic, having a penchant for
different accents.
It was these skills that made his sister
apply, on his behalf but without his knowledge, to the National
Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. At the time, Gibson had graduated
from school and was working at an orange juice-bottling factory. When he
was offered a place to study acting at the Institute of Dramatic Art,
he gladly accepted, moving out of his parents’ home and in with three of
his friends, one of whom was Geoffrey Rush (now an Oscar winning
actor). He overcame his stage fright (a result of his shyness) and put
all his effort into the course, thoroughly enjoying the theatrical work.
Gibson graduated in 1977 and began working on the small screen,
appearing in television series ‘The Sullivans’ (1976-1983), ‘Cop Shop’
(1977-1984) and ‘Punishment’ (1981).
However, he hated television
work as compared to the theatre, maintaining that good acting was only
done within time constraints. He joined the South Australia Theatre
Company and toured with ‘Waiting for Godot’. It was during this tour,
whilst in Adelaide, that he met his future wife, Robyn Moore, who was
working as a dental nurse. They were married on 7 June 1980 and went on
to have seven children, first a daughter Hannah (b. 1980) and then six
sons, twins Edward and Christian (b. 1982), Willie (b. 1985), Louis (b.
1988), Milo (b. 1990) and Tommy (b. 1999).
Gibson’s first big
screen debut came in the form of an uncredited role as a baseball player
in ‘I Never Promised You a Rose Garden’ (1977). However, it wasn’t long
before he met director Phil Avalon and was cast in his low-budget
surfer movie called ‘Summer City’ (1977), enjoying a brief relationship
with co-star Deborah Foreman.
Two
years later, Gibson was offered the lead role in George Miller’s
sensational ‘Mad Max’ (1979). In a strange twist of fate, on the night
before the audition Gibson was involved in a boozy fight, which left him
with stitches in his head and a badly bruised and beaten face. It was
the last thing he needed when trying to impress a casting crew, but it
was in fact this ‘look’ that clinched the deal. In a role that secured
his arrival as a star, Gibson played ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky, a ruthless,
leather-clad survivor in the savage post-apocalyptic Australian Outback.
The film became a cult hit that has since been followed by sequels.
Playing
the title role in ‘Tim’ (1979) won Gibson his first Best Actor in a
Lead Role Award from The Australian Film Institute and playing Frank
Dunne in Peter Weir’s WW1 drama ‘Gallipoli’ (1981) won him his second.
Not only was Gibson gaining big screen experience, his acting efforts
were being noticed and rewarded, at least in Australia. With his offbeat
charm, his magnetism, his piercingly blue eyes and his boyish good
looks, he was becoming an obvious choice for male lead roles.
‘Mad
Max 2: The Road Warrior’ (1981) was another runaway hit and finally
made a star of Gibson in America. To follow were two more war dramas,
the mediocre ‘Attack Force Z’ (1982) and the ‘The Year of Living
Dangerously’ (1982) with Sigourney Weaver. He starred as Fletcher
Christian with Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis and
Liam Neeson in ‘The Bounty’ (1984). At this stage, Gibson was already
struggling with alcoholism, finding that the inebriation took away his
shyness and that he generally drank a whole lot more when he was away
from his family, when filming. This caused an on-set rift between
himself and Hopkins, a teetotaller at the time. In fact, in Toronto
1984, an inebriated Gibson rear-ended another driver. He pleaded guilty
to drunk driving and was fined $300.
Gibson then worked on his
first film with an American director and for the first time, adopted an
American accent. It was New Yorker Mark Rydell’s epic love story ‘The
River’ (1984), in which Gibson starred opposite Sissy Spaceck. He played
prisoner Ed Biddle, with Diane Keaton and Matthew Modine, in the
romantic drama ‘Mrs Soffel’ (1984) before returning once more to
Australia and his Mad Max role, to film the third in the series. It was
‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ (1985) with Tina Turner as Aunty Entity.
Unbeknownst
to Gibson, he was about to become one of the biggest action heroes of
all time. Upon his return to America, he was offered the role of
Sergeant Martin Riggs in the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series. His partner in this
“buddy film” genre was Danny Glover, with whom he shared great onscreen
chemistry, helping the series that has spanned almost two decades, to
become enormously successful. Between ‘Lethal Weapon’ (1987) and ‘Lethal
Weapon 2’ (1989), Gibson starred in the action romance ‘Tequila
Sunrise’ (1988) with Michele Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell. Then came
adventure comedy ‘Bird on a Wire’ (1990) with David Carradine and the
delightful Goldie Hawn, and action comedy ‘Air America’ (1990) with
Robert Downey Jr, about the Vietnam War.
In
an unusual switch of genres, from action to classical, Gibson played
the Danish Prince in Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Hamlet’ (1990) with co-stars
Glenn Close, Alan Bates and Paul Schofield, and certainly held his own.
During the filming of ‘Hamlet’, chain-smoking Gibson changed to nicotine
gum in an effort to better control his breathing, for the improved
delivery of his lines. In 1991 he began treatment for alcoholism, with
his wife threatening to leave him if he refused. He then starred with
Elijah Wood and Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Forever Young’ (1992) for which he
was also Executive Producer but this role went uncredited. ‘Lethal
Weapon 3’ (1992) scored its by-now-usual box-office hit and Gibson made
his directorial debut with ‘The Man Without a Face’ (1993). In this
heart-warming drama he starred as Justin McLeod. Next was his role as
the gambling Bret Maverick Jr in ‘Maverick’ (1994), with charming lady
thief played by Jodie Foster.
The unforgettable historical epic
‘Braveheart’ (1995) was Gibson’s second opportunity as Director, in
which he played the lead role of 13th century Scottish rebel and hero
William Wallace. The film was signed by Icon Productions, a company
co-owned by Gibson and Bruce Davey, and Gibson achieved invigorating
performances, brutal battle scenes and touching story telling. In short,
with very little prior experience at Directing, Gibson surpassed
everyone’s expectations by winning two Oscars at the 1996 Academy
Awards, for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as a 1996 Golden
Globe Award for Best Director. Also released in 1995 was Disney’s
animated movie ‘Pocahontas’ for which Gibson provided the voice of John
Smith, proving his singing abilities.
‘Ransom’ (1996) was a
fast-paced kidnap story that had Gibson playing rich airline owner Tom
Mullen, with Rene Russo and Gary Sinese. Julia Roberts starred with
Gibson in romantic thriller ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (1997). Also that year
were two uncredited cameo roles, as Scott the Body Piercer in ‘Fathers'
Day’ (1997) and as Frances’ father in ‘FairyTale: A True Story’ (1997).
In 1997, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia, the
country’s highest honour. Then came ‘Lethal Weapon 4’ (1998) and the
next year, Gibson provided the voice for one episode of the cult
television series ‘The Simpsons’ (1999). He played Porter in ‘Payback’
(1999), a remake of the 1968 crime thriller that starred Lee Marvin and
Angie Dickinson.
Wim Wenders directed ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’
(2000) in which Gibson played FBI agent Detective Skinner alongside
Milla Jovovich and Jeremy Davies. He then provided the voice of Rocky
Rhodes the Rhode Island Red Rooster in the much loved animated film
‘Chicken Run’ (2000). ‘The Patriot’ (2000) was a slightly sentimental
take on the American revolutionary war and then Gibson played a
chauvinistic executive who, after an accident, is able to hear what
women are thinking in ‘What Women Want’ (2000) with Helen Hunt, Marissa
Tomei, Alan Alda and Bette Midler.
Gibson
played Lt. Col. Hal Moore opposite Madeleine Stowe as Julie Moore in
‘We Were Soldiers’ (2002), a true story about the Vietnam War. In
‘Signs’ (2002) he was the Reverend Graham Hess and Joaquin Phoenix
played his brother, Merrill Hess, in a story involving crop circles, car
accidents and tests of faith. Gibson won a Global Achievement Award
from the Australian Film Institute in 2002 in recognition of his
contribution to acting. ‘The Singing Detective’ (2003), in which Gibson
played a psychotherapist with Robert Downey Jr, Robin Wright Penn and
Katie Holmes, topped the box office charts and was America’s biggest
summer hit of 2003.
In ‘Paparazzi’ (2004), which he produced,
Gibson played an uncredited role as an Anger Management Therapy patient.
He admitted to drug and alcohol abuse in a 2004 Primetime interview
with Diane Sawyer. Gibson committed himself to rehabilitation, having
reached a low point of depression and guilt surrounding his behaviour
and having even considered suicide. The need to reconnect with his
spiritual side and his own strongly religious upbringing inspired him to
direct and produce the film ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004). It had
been ten years in the research and making and Gibson reportedly spent
$25 million of his own money on the project. The blockbuster, created by
Icon Productions, the production company co-owned by Gibson and Bruce
Davey, was surrounded by controversy before the film was even released.
Not since Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988) had a
religious movie caused such a stir.
Gibson’s father was accused
of having denied the Holocaust, to which Gibson replied that his father
had been questioning the number of Jewish deaths rather than having
denied it ever happened. Jewish pressure groups such as the
Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, responded
immediately. Not to be left out, a group of Catholic ecumenists,
activists and scholars compiled a list of transgressions in the script
and demanded that the film be entirely remade. Some people in Hollywood
even turned against Gibson during this difficult time. Determined to see
his dream to fruition, he held his ground, even daring to have his
actors speak entirely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin (although it was all
subtitled).
The film told the story of the last hours of Christ
in harrowing detail, vividly portraying his violent beatings and
humiliation and made for intensely disturbing viewing. The Catholic
Church distanced itself from the entire issue, which meant the film
remained uncensored. Despite all the controversy, Gibson’s instincts had
been correct and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for
Original Music Score, Best Cinematography and Best Makeup and won the
People’s Choice Award for Best Drama. ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004)
became the highest grossing R-rated film in American history and the
8th highest grossing movie of all time.
Inspired
by this success, Gibson went on to direct the epic ‘Apocalypto’ and was
also Executive Producer, Producer and Writer. The title is Greek for
“new beginning” or “unveiling”. The film is set during the time of the
decline of the Mayan civilization 600 years ago. As in ‘The Passion of
the Christ’ (2004), Gibson used local dialect - in this case, Yucatec
Maya – and unknown actors. Once again this was self-financed by Gibson,
with Icon Productions retaining the international rights whilst Disney
will distribute the film in the US.
The man who began his career
being typecast as an action hero but who soon proved his great
versatility as an actor, is certainly not slowing down after nearly
three decades in the business. There is talk of the release of the
fourth Mad Max movie, which is in the pre-production stage, with the
working title of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. ‘Sam and George’, a drama
directed by Richard Donner, is due for release in 2008. In the story
about old friends reuniting, Gibson plays a man released from prison
after serving twenty years for a crime he did not commit.
This
award winning actor, director and producer is actually a fiercely
private man who genuinely loves his wife and children. He and his wife
donate to various charities, particularly those helping needy children
around the world. His company, Icon Productions now has offices
worldwide and produces international films and television shows. Brought
up by strictly Catholic parents, Gibson spent years of drinking,
smoking, brawling, gambling and womanising before battling his
addictions and the controversy surrounding his personal views and
behaviour. He has, at times, voiced prejudiced, anti-Semitic and
homophobic statements and been fined more than once for driving
misdemeanours involving alcohol, yet he always manages to recover from
these incidents.
On 28th July 2006 Gibson fell foul of the law in
a return to his old drinking habits. After being pulled over for
speeding and drunk driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu,
California, he swore and made a number of sexist and anti-Semitic
statements, one of which was, “F***ing Jews… Jews are responsible for
all wars in the world.” He was arrested and charged with DUI (Driving
Under the Influence) with a blood alcohol level above California’s 0.08
legal limit. He was also cited for a vehicle code infraction for having
an open bottle of Tequila in his car when he was stopped. The following
day, he issued two formal apologies for his behaviour and his comments
upon being arrested, specifically apologising to the Jewish community in
the second one. On 17th August 2006, he pleaded guilty to his charges
and was sentenced to three years on probation, his licence was
restricted for 90 days and he was fined $1 300. The Superior Court Judge
also ordered Gibson to attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and
to enter a rehabilitation programme.
With such talent and
potential to keep achieving in the world of entertainment, here’s hoping
Gibson manages to conquer his addictions once and for all and that his
desire to become more spiritual will help him through the process and
eradicate the controversy that often clouds an otherwise bright and
ambitious character.
After 26 years of marriage, Mel and Robyn
Gibson separated on 29 July 2006. In a 2011 interview, Gibson revealed
that the separation occurred the day after his drunk driving arrest.
In a joint statement, the couple said: "Throughout our marriage and
separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity
of our family and will continue to do so."
Robyn cited
irreconcilable differences and filed for divorce on 13 April 2009 after
the publication of Mel embracing Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva on a
beach.
The divorce was finalised on 23 December 2011, with the
settlement reaching $400,000,000 - one of the largest in Hollywood
history.
Gibson made his first red carpet appearance with
Grigorieva on 28 April 2009 and she gave birth to their daughter Lucia
on 30 October 2009. In April 2010, it was revealed the pair had split
and each party took out a restraining order on the other.
He returned to film in 'The Edge of Darkness' as a homicide detective investigating his daughter's death in 2010.
Gibson starred alongside Jodie Foster, who also directed 'The Beaver'
in 2011 as a troubled husband and executive who adopts a beaver hand
puppet as his sole mean of communication.
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