Mel
Columcille Gerard Gibson - this is what mel Gibson was called at his
birth. he was born on January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA. He
was sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad
brakeman, and Ann Gibson, who was born in Australia and died in
December of 1990. He moved with his family to Australia when he was 12
years old.
Though he had, at one point, set his sights on journalism, Gibson
caught the acting bug by the time he had reached college age, and
studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney,
Australia, despite what he describes as a crippling ordeal with stage
fright. Luckily, this was something he overcame relatively quickly --
Gibson was still a student when he filmed Summer City and it didn't
take long before he had found work playing supporting roles for the
South Australia Theatre Company after his graduation.
Though he had, at one point, set his sights on journalism, Gibson
caught the acting bug by the time he had reached college age, and
studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney,
Australia, despite what he describes as a crippling ordeal with stage
fright. Luckily, this was something he overcame relatively quickly --
Gibson was still a student when he filmed Summer City and it didn't
take long before he had found work playing supporting roles for the
South Australia Theatre Company after his graduation.
By 1979, Gibson had already demonstrated a unique versatility. In the
drama Tim, a then 22-year-old Gibson played the role of a mildly
retarded handy man well enough to win him a Sammy award -- one of the
Australian entertainment industry's highest accolades -- while his
leather clad portrayal of a post-apocalyptic cop in Mad Max helped the
young actor gain popularity with a very different type of audience.
Gibson wouldn't become internationally famous, however, until after
his performance in Mad Max 2 (1981), one of the few sequels to have
proved superior to its predecessor.
In 1983, Gibson collaborated with director Peter Weir for the second
time (though it was largely overlooked during the success of Mad Max
2, Gibson starred in Weir's powerful WWI drama Gallipoli in 1981) for
The Year of Living Dangerously, in which he played a callous reporter
responsible for covering a bloody Indonesian coup. Shortly afterwards,
Gibson made his Hollywood debut in The Bounty with Oscar-winner
Anthony Hopkins, and starred opposite Sissy Spacek in The River during
the same year. He would also star in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
alongside singer Tina Turner.
After the third installment to the Mad Max franchise, Gibson took a
two-year break, only to reappear opposite Danny Glover in director
Richard Donner's smash hit Lethal Weapon. The role featured Gibson as
Martin Riggs, a volatile police officer reeling from the death of his
wife, and cemented a spot as one of Hollywood's premier action stars.
Rather than letting himself become typecast, however, Gibson would
surprise critics and audiences alike when he accepted the title role
in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990). Though his performance earned
mixed reviews, he was applauded for taking on such a famously tragic
script.
In the early '90s, Gibson founded ICON Productions, and through it
made his directorial debut with 1993's The Man Without a Face. The
film, which also starred Gibson as a horrifically burned teacher
harboring a secret, achieved only middling box-office success, though
it was considered a well-wrought effort for a first-time director.
Gibson would fare much better in 1994 when he rejoined Richard Donner
in the movie adaptation of Maverick; however, it would be another year
before Gibson's penchant for acting, directing, and producing was
given its due. In 1995, Gibson swept the Oscars with Braveheart, his
epic account of 13th century Scottish leader William Wallace's
lifelong struggle to forge an independent nation. Later that year, he
lent his vocal talents -- surprising many with his ability to carry a
tune -- for the part of John Smith in Disney's animated feature
Pocahontas.
Through the '90s, Gibson's popularity and reputation continued to
grow, thanks to such films as Ransom (1996) and Conspiracy Theory
(1997). In 1998, Gibson further increased this popularity with the
success of two films, Lethal Weapon 4 and Payback. More success
followed in 2000 due to the actor's lead role as an animated rooster
in Nick Park and Peter Lord's hugely acclaimed Chicken Run, and to his
work as the titular hero of Roland Emmerich's blockbuster period epic
The Patriot (2000). After taking up arms in the battlefield of a more
modern era in the Vietman drama We Were Soldiers in 2002, Gibson would
step in front of the cameras once more for Sixth Sense director M.
Night Shyamalan's dramatic sci-fi thriller Signs (also 2002). The film
starred Gibson as a grieving patriarch whose rural existence was even
further disturbed by the discovery of several crop circles on his
property.
Gibson would return to more familiar territory in Randall Wallace's We
Were Soldiers -- a 2002 war drama which found Gibson in the role of
Lt. Col. Hal Moore, commander of the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry
-- the same regiment so fatefully led by George Armstrong Custer. In
2003, Gibson starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Robin Wright-Penn
in a remake of The Singing Detective.
The year 2004 saw Gibson return to the director's chair for The
Passion of The Christ. Funded by 25 million of Gibson's own dollars,
the religious drama generated controversy amid cries of anti-Semitism.
Despite the debates surrounding the film -- and the fact that all of
the dialogue was spoken in Latin and Aramaic -- it nearly recouped its
budget in the first day of release. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide.
Off the screen, Mel is a true Hollywood Wonder. He's been married
since 1980, has 7 children (Hannah, twins Edward and Christian,
William, Louis, Milo and Tommy), and has not been divorced!
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