Mel Gibson Biography

Mel GibsonMel Gibson is one complicated, interesting guy, from his childhood, to his career, to his religion, and political beliefs. It's safe to say there isn t another like him.Well-known as being Australian, Gibson was actually born in Peekskill, New York on January 3, 1956. At the age of twelve, his father, Hutton Gibson, moved the family that included Mel and ten other children and his mother, Ann Gibson, to New South Wales, Australia with earnings from a stint on the game show Jeopardy! His reasoning for the move was because of the ongoing Viet Nam war and his father's fears that Mel's older brothers would be sent to war.Mel Gibson attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia, with roommate actor Geoffrey Rush. After graduating, Gibson had a handful of small acting roles in Australia, and then got a chance to audition for the lead role in Mad Max. Fate stepped in as he was in a terrible fight the night before his audition and went into his audition bruised and swollen. Gibson didn t get the part, but was asked to return in a few days because they needed freaks for the role. When he returned, Gibson was healed and unrecognizable as a freak, and instead was given the title role. When the movie, and its subsequent sequels, Mad Max 2 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, were shown in the United States, Gibson's voice was dubbed in because of his heavy Australian accent.The River with Sissy Spacek, and Mrs. Soffel with Diane Keaton were Gibson's first original releases in the States. He followed this with Lethal Weapon alongside Danny Glover and Gary Busey, making it his first successful American movie. The success of this movie spawned three sequels Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, and Lethal Weapon 4 with the additions of Joe Pesci and Rene Russo to the cast. By the time Mel appeared in these movies, it was hard to detect that he had any Australian accent at all.With the success of the Lethal Weapon movies, Gibson could afford to pick and choose the roles he would think would be more interesting. He played the title role in Hamlet, opposite Glenn Close, and considering he was People Magazine's very first Sexiest Man of the Year , it was quite ironic that Gibson tackled the title role in The Man Without a Face. He followed this serious film by playing the title role in Maverick, originated by James Garner, who had a supporting role in the movie. Gibson was asked to play the title role in Braveheart, but was afraid he was too old. He offered to direct the movie instead, and an agreement was reached for him to both star and direct.Playing the role of an overwrought father in Ransom, Gibson once again starred with Rene Russo. The Patriot, like Braveheart, was another movie with historical importance, as it was set in 1776. He starred in this alongside Heath Ledger and Joely Richardson. Helen Hunt was Gibson's costar in What Women Want. She begged him at the beginning of shooting to refrain from his pranks, after hearing about pranks he pulled on Jodie Foster in Maverick and on Julia Roberts in Conspiracy Theory.Gibson's most controversial role wasn t in acting, but as writer and director of The Passion of the Christ, a starring vehicle for James Caviezel about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Gibson took heat from everyone for this movie, yet it was extremely successful. This was an extremely important movie for him due to his devout Catholicism. He attends Mass every day in a chapel he built in his backyard. And while he is viewed as a conservative Republican, he is against the war with Iraq and against the Bush administration, yet has campaigned against stem cell research, and is a proponent of the capital punishment.Despite being named The Sexiest Man Alive , Gibson found his wife, Robyn Moore, through a dating service. Although they have differing religious beliefs, they have been married over twenty-five years, and have seven children.

• AskMen.com - Mel Gibson