Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American-born Australian-reared actor, director and producer best known for acting in the Mad Max movie series, the Lethal Weapon series, acting in and directing the Academy Award winning Braveheart and directing the 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ.

Gibson and the movies

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1977, Gibson's acting career began in Australia with appearances in the television series The Sullivans.

Related Topics:
National Institute of Dramatic Art - 1977 - The Sullivans

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He made his Australian movie debut as the leather-clad post-apocalyptic survivor in George Miller's Mad Max, which later became a cult hit and launched two of its own sequels. His international profile increased through Peter Weir's anti-war First World War film Gallipoli. In 1984, Gibson made his U.S. movie debut, starring as Fletcher Christian in The Bounty. Actor Anthony Hopkins played opposite Gibson as Captain Bligh.

Related Topics:
Mad Max - Cult hit - Peter Weir - First World War - Gallipoli - 1984 - Fletcher Christian - The Bounty - Anthony Hopkins - Captain Bligh

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Lethal Weapon and Hamlet

Gibson moved to more mainstream filmmaking with the popular Lethal Weapon series, where he starred as a maverick and violent cop, Martin Riggs, in a buddy relationship with his older and more conservative partner played by Danny Glover. Gibson surprisingly moved to the classical genre, playing the melancholy Danish prince in Franco Zeffirelli's movie of Shakespeare's Hamlet (1990). Gibson has been equally successful as a comedy actor, in movies such as Maverick (1994) and What Women Want (2000).

Related Topics:
Danny Glover - Franco Zeffirelli - Shakespeare - Hamlet - 1990 - Maverick - 1994 - What Women Want - 2000

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Academy awards

In 1996, Gibson received two Academy Awards (Best Director and Best Picture) for Braveheart (1995), loosely based on the life of Sir William Wallace, a thirteenth century Scottish warlord who fought the English in the late 13th century and early 14th century.

Related Topics:
1996 - Academy Awards - Best Director - Best Picture - Braveheart - 1995 - William Wallace - Scottish - English - 13th century - 14th century

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The Passion of the Christ

Gibson co-wrote, produced and directed The Passion of the Christ, a 2004 movie in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin, recounting a description of the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ. The movie has received praise from Christians and a number of politically conservative Jewish leaders and scholars (e.g., Michael Medved, David Horowitz, and Steven Waldman).

Related Topics:
The Passion of the Christ - 2004 - Aramaic - Hebrew - Latin - Jesus Christ - Christian - Jewish leaders and scholars - Michael Medved - David Horowitz - Steven Waldman

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The movie was initially criticised by some Christian and Jewish figures, a number of whom claimed that it may promote anti-Semitism, as it relies on imagery similar to that of passion-plays, a mainstream Christian tradition that some activists believe to be capable of inciting anti-Semitic incidents. The movie has been criticised by a group of Christian scholars for its adherence in a number of scenes and details to the visions of a 17th century mystic and nun, the Venerable Mary of Agreda and a 19th Century German visionary, the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, both Roman Catholics.

Related Topics:
Anti-Semitism - Passion-plays - Mary of Agreda - Anne Catherine Emmerich

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Gibson was asked if his movie would be offensive to Jews today; his response was "It's not meant to. I think it's meant to just tell the truth. I want to be as truthful as possible. But when you look at the reasons Christ came, he was crucified—he died for all mankind and he suffered for all mankind. So that, really, anyone who transgresses has to look at their own part or look at their own culpability." He also stated in an interview in The New Yorker, that he trimmed a scene from The Passion of the Christ involving the Jewish high priest Caiaphas because if he did not, "they'd be coming after me at my house, they'd come to kill me."

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When the Carmelite nuns at the convent in Coimbra, Portugal got word out that they wanted to see a copy of the film before it was released on DVD, Gibson personally arranged for a special digital screening from one inch tape and shipped in a projector and screens to view it and introduced the film in person. Later, he stopped by again to have a private meeting with the convent's most famous nun, Sister Lucia, who was 97 and was the last survivor of the three children who saw the vision of the Our Lady of Fatima, the Virgin Mary, and were said to have been given secrets by her, known as the Three Secrets of Fatima. Sister Lucia died not long after.

Related Topics:
Coimbra, Portugal - Sister Lucia - Our Lady of Fatima - Three Secrets of Fatima

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In spite of the criticism (or perhaps helped by it), the movie grossed $611,899,420 worlwide ($370,782,930 in the US alone) and became the eighth highest-grossing film in history. It currently is the 10th highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing Rated R film of all time. Despite this, the film went without any significant recognition by the major American film award celebrations.

Related Topics:
Highest-grossing film - Rated R

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