Mel Gibson is an award-winning Australian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter best known for his performances in Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart and for his directorial project The Passion of the Christ.
The sixth of the seven children, Mel Gibson was born on January 3, 1953 in Peekskill, New York. His family moved to Sydney Australia when he was 12 years old, after his father won $145,000 in a lawsuit against New York Central. Mel Gibson studied high school at Christian Brothers at St. Leo's Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wale. After graduating, he studied acting in the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, along with Judy Davis and Steve Bisley.
Mel Gibson got his break in the big screen in 1979, when he played the title role in George Miller’s independent film Mad Max. This Australian action thriller tells the story of Max who must protect the few remaining townspeople of the post-apocalypse Outback from the violent motorcycle gangs. With only a reported budget of $300,000 AUD, the film earned a towering figure of $100 million world wide. It also earned four Australian Institute Awards in 1979. Gibson later reprised the role for the film’s sequels, Mad Max 2 in 1981 and Mad Max 3 in 1985.
In 1987, Gibson moved into more commercial types of movies as he co-starred with Danny Glover in the action film Lethal Weapon which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Sound. Gibson played the LAPD cop Detective-Sergeant Martin Riggs, a role which he later reprised for the film’s sequels released in 1987, 1989, 1992 and 1998.
In 1995, Gibson starred and directed the historical action-drama Braveheart. The film won five Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director. In the movie, Gibson portrayed Sir William Wallace who led his fellow countrymen to overthrow the English rule in Scotland.
Gibson once again showed his mastery in filmmaking in 2004 when he directed The Passion of the Christ. The film accounts the last hours of Jesus Christ prior to his crucifixion. The film earned Gibson his second Academy Award for Best Director.
Gibson is also an honorary officer of The Order of Australia. He was named by Forbes magazine as the world’s most powerful celebrity in 2004.