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Mel Gibson Profile |
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Birth Date: January 3, 1956
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Birth Place: Peekskill, New York, USA
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Birth Name: Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson
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Height: 5'11"
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Biography |
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an
American-born, Australian actor, director, and producer.
After establishing himself as a household name with the Mad
Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and
star in 1995's Academy Award-winning Braveheart. In 2004, he
directed and produced the controversial blockbuster, The
Passion of the Christ. The first person ever awarded People
magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive", Gibson's direction of
Braveheart made him only the sixth actor-turned-filmmaker to
garner an Oscar for Best Director.
Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of ten
children born to Hutton Gibson (whose parents were U.S.
businessman, John Hutton Gibson, and Irish-Australian opera
singer Eva Mylott) and Anne Reilly Gibson (who was born in
the parish of Columcille, County Longford, Ireland). The
family also adopted a child, bringing the total number of
children in the family to eleven. One of Mel's younger
brothers, Donal, is also an actor. His unusual first name
comes from a 5th-century Irish saint, Mel, who was the
founder of the diocese of Ardagh, which contains most of his
mother's native county. He is not related to the pop singer
Debbie Gibson.
Although Gibson always maintained his United States
citizenship, he lived in Australia from the age of twelve.
Following a purported victory on the TV game show Jeopardy!,
Gibson's father moved his family to Australia in 1968,
allegedly in protest of the Vietnam War for which his elder
sons risked being drafted, and also because he believed that
changes in American society were immoral. Early Gibson films
feature a distinct, noticeable Australian accent.
After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art
in Sydney in 1977, Gibson's acting career began in Australia
with appearances in television series, including The
Sullivans, Cop Shop and Punishment.
He made his Australian film debut as the leather-clad
post-apocalyptic survivor in George Miller's Mad Max, which
later became a cult hit and launched two sequels. His
international profile increased through Peter Weir's
Gallipoli. Gibson's boyish good looks made him a natural for
leading male roles.
In 1984, he made his U.S. film debut, starring as Fletcher
Christian in The Bounty. Actor Anthony Hopkins played
Captain Bligh opposite Gibson. Reportedly, Gibson and
Hopkins did not get along during the shoot, which took place
on the island of Moorea. At the time, Anthony Hopkins was a
teetotaler, and Mel Gibson was struggling with alcoholism.
Gibson frequently spent his evenings in local saloons. In
one incident, Gibson's face was severely cut up in a bar
room brawl and the film's shooting schedule had to be
rearranged while he was flown to a hospital in Papeete. The
Bounty was a commercial and critical failure.
Extremely devoted to his faith, Mel Gibson has donated money
to finance the construction of "independent" traditional
Catholic chapels in Malibu, California, and in a small town
in West Virginia. Only the Latin Tridentine Mass is offered
in both chapels. Gibson has said that he attends Mass every
day.
On June 7, 1980, Gibson married Robyn Moore, whom he
initially met through a dating service. They have one
daughter and six sons: Hannah (born 1980), twins Edward and
Christian (born 1982), Willie (born 1985), Louis (born
1988), Milo (born 1990), and Tommy (born 1999). Rumors that
Hannah was planning to become a nun were quashed by the
family after initial mention in the media.
His wife remains an Anglican despite 26 years of marriage to
Mel Gibson. Gibson never disapproved of her Anglican
beliefs, saying that "true love knows no boundaries." Gibson
has not attempted to convert her, and maintains that she is
"a saint" for sticking with him through his years of hard
drinking and that she is a much better Christian than he. He
has also called her "my Rock of Gibraltar, only prettier."
But he has also stated in interviews that he grudgingly
holds to the Catholic doctrine of "Extra Ecclesiam Nulla
Salus" and, as such, accepts the possibility that his wife
could go to hell.
According to Gibson biographer Wensley Clarkson, Gibson's
alcoholism dates to his teenage years. A feature article on
Gibson published on the DailyCatholic website March 17, 2004
(and described as having been written four years previously,
before The Passion of The Christ) states, "He has made it
known that from an early age he suffered from being manic
depressive, but through his strong faith and appropriate
medicines he has been able to overcome these shortcomings to
attain the heights of stardom." This disorder is often
linked with alcohol abuse and/or self-destructive behavior.
In 1984, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving after he
rear-ended a car in Toronto. According to Clarkson, when the
other driver exited his vehicle and began shouting profanity
at him, Mel Gibson laughed and offered him a drink. He was
fined $400 and banned from driving in Canada for 3 months.
In a 2004 Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer, Gibson
admitted to drug and alcohol abuse. He also said that his
addictions have led him to try to commit suicide.
On July 28, 2006, Gibson was arrested on suspicion of
drunken driving, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
said. According to the Sheriff's statement, Gibson was
detained while driving along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu
at 2:36 am, spouted expletives and racist comments. He was
later released from custody on bail of $5,000.
He has reportedly gone back to attending Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings. |
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Other Information |
Ranked #12 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie
Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Born at 4:45pm-EST.
Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the "50 Most
Beautiful People" in the world. [1996]
Educated at University of New South Wales, Australia.
Attended drama school with Judy Davis. They played Romeo and
Juliet together.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful
People" in the world. [1991]
Chosen by People magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful
People" in the world. [1990]
Trained at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts). As
well as Judy Davis, other fellow students, during his time
there, included Colin Friels and Dennis Olsen.
Awarded the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia),
Australia's highest honor, in mid-1997.
Roommates with Geoffrey Rush in college.
He took up acting only because his sister submitted an
application behind his back. The night before an audition,
he got into a fight, and his face was badly beaten, an
accident that won him the role.
Brother of actor, Donal Gibson.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars"
in film history (#37). [1995]
Chosen as People Magazine's first "Sexiest Man Alive."
[1985]
Is a big fan of The Three Stooges.
First studied drama at the New Zealand Drama School, Toi
Whakaari in Wellington, New Zealand. After getting accepted
he completed the course and used this as a foot-in into NIDA
in Australia in 1975.
He and his wife met through a dating service.
Has a horseshoe kidney (two kidneys fused into one).
Owns a production company with branches in the USA,
Australia and the UK.
Ranked #15 in Premiere's 2003 annual "Power 100" list. Had
ranked #17 in 2002.
His voice in Mad Max (1979) was dubbed for the film's US
release.
The doctor who delivered him into the world was Charles
Sweet, grandfather of actor Jay Danger.
He was a part of the movment dubbed the "Australian New
Wave" by the press. They were a group of filmmakers and
performers who emerged from Down Under at about the same
time in the early 1980's and found work in other parts of
the world. Other members included actress Judy Davis and
directors George Miller, Gillian Armstrong and Peter Weir.
He was the first Australian actor to be paid $1,000,000 for
a film role.
Almost turned down the role of William Wallace in Braveheart
(1995) because he thought he was too old for the role. He
asked the producers if he could direct it instead. A
compromise was made, he could direct the movie if he agreed
to portray Wallace.
Shares birthday with J.R.R. Tolkien.
His father, Hutton Gibson, moved the family from upstate New
York to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1968 after
winning as a contestant on "Jeopardy!" (1964).
For The Passion of the Christ (2004), which he directed,
wrote and produced, he spent 25 million dollars of his own
money. Back in 1992, he started doing research for the movie
that was not released until 2004.
Has 7 children: daughter, Hannah Gibson (born 1980); twin
sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982); son,
Willie Gibson (born 1985); son, Louis Gibson (born 1988);
son, Milo Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999).
Son, Christian Gibson, is a freshman at the University of
Colorado at Boulder. [Fall 2001]
Was considered for the role of James Bond in GoldenEye
(1995).
Ranked #10 in Premiere's 2004 annual "Power 100" list. Had
ranked #15 in 2003. He is the highest-ranked actor on the
2004 list.
Has his own private chapel in his grounds, where he attends
mass every day.
He was voted the 48th "Greatest Movie Star" of all time by
Entertainment Weekly.
Ranked number 1 on Forbes 2004 "Celebrity 100 List". He was
the highest paid celebrity in 2004 with a reported
$210,000,000 salary from his The Passion of the Christ
(2004) profits, plus a potential $150,000,000 that is yet to
be accounted for. He made more money than Oprah Winfrey
($210,000,000), J.K. Rowling ($147,000,000), Tiger Woods &
Michael Schumacher ($80,000,000 each) and Steven Spielberg
($75,000,000) in 2004.
In Portuguese, his name means "honey."
Was considered for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman
(1989).
Was considered for the role of Wolverine in X-Men (2000).
Son of the controversial Hutton Gibson and Anne Gibson.
In the movie Forever Young (1992), he needed to appear older
in the last few scenes. Because his eyes were so bright
blue, no matter how many wrinkles they put on him, he did
not look authentically older. So, he had to wear gray
contacts, in order to look old.
Along with Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford,
Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner one of 6 people to
win and Academy Award for "Best Director", though they are
mainly known as actors.
Was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from
Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in May 2003, and
gave the commencement address.
Ranked #15 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #10
in 2004.
His favourite films include, The Big Country (1958), Double
Indemnity (1944), and Spartacus (1960)
His family line goes back several generations in Australia,
but his ancestors originally came from Ireland and Scotland.
Was offered the role of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables
(1987), but had to decline because he was already working on
one of the Lethal Weapon films.
He turned down the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in Batman
Forever (1995), due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart
(1995).
Owns a summer home in Branford, Connecticut.
When Apocalypto (2006) is finished, he plans to donate six
replicas of Mayan pyramids and several movie-set villages.
Flew to Fiji in early December 2004 where he bought the
2,160 hectare island of Mago from a Japanese hotel chain for
$15 million. He plans to turn the Pacific paradise, that is
home to forty residents, mostly coconut farmers and their
families, into his own personal retreat. The South Pacific
island boasts two lagoons and stunning white-sand beaches.
Gibson has been widely perceived as a conservative
Republican, even though he has never identified himself as
such. In March 2004 he expressed doubts over the Iraq war,
in particular the failure to find weapons of mass
destruction, although he maintained that President George W.
Bush had "done a lot of good" elsewhere. At the People's
Choice Awards ceremony in January 2005, Gibson again
condemned the Iraq war and praised the liberal director
Michael Moore and his documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004). Many of Gibson's positions are in accordance with
traditional Catholicism. He released a statement in March
2005 condemning the euthanasia of Terry Schiavo, and has
criticized stem cell research. He is also a proponent of the
death penalty, which many conservative Catholics support but
which the Roman Catholic Church opposes.
He was the original choice to play Jack Stanton in Primary
Colors (1998) but lost out to John Travolta.
He was named after the Church of St. Mel in Clonmel, Co.
Tipperary, Ireland where his mother's family is from.
Was spoofed in both "South Park" (1997) and "Family Guy"
(1999), and both of the times he was spoofed, there was a
reference to the Looney Tunes cartoons. In the "South Park"
(1997) episode "The Passion of the Jew", his character acts
a lot like Daffy Duck in the cartoon _Yankee Doodle Daffy
(1943)_, while scaring Stan and Kenny, in the hopes that
they will both torture him. And in the "Family Guy" (1999)
episode "North by North Quahog", he chases Peter and Lois
Griffin to the top of Mount Everest and is tricked into
walking off a ledge, to which he plummets to the ground,
very much like Wile E. Coyote does in several cartoons.
Gibson has an estimated fortune of $850 million, according
to the "Los Angeles Business Journal". The size of his
fortune him the 47th richest person in the Los Angeles area
and the wealthiest actor in the world.
His performance as "Mad" Max Rockatansky in the "Mad Max"
trilogy is ranked #78 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest
Movie Characters of All Time.
"Braveheart" (1995) is ranked #62 on the American Film
Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.
Ranked #17 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked
#15 in 2005.
Turned down the role of Sgt. John McLoughlin in World Trade
Center (2006) to direct Apocalypto (2006) instead.
On July 28, 2006, he was arrested for drunk driving in
Malibu, California. |
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