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Mel Gibson
It’s all happening too fast. I’ve got to put the brakes on or I’ll smack into something.
— Mel Gibson
RAISED in Australia from the age of 12, Mel Gibson was the sixth of his parents’ eleven kids. His father, a brakeman for the New York Central Railroad, moved the family from the United States to his mother’s native Sydney, Australia, for financial reasons (he sustained an on-the-job injury), but also to protect his older sons from the Vietnam draft. Gibson graduated from a Catholic high school with dreams of becoming a chef or a journalist, but instead landed at the National Institute of Dramatic Art at the University of New South Wales after his sister submitted an application to the institution in his name. While still a student, Gibson earned his film debut in a cheap flick called Summer City, in which he played a surfer dude named Scollop. After graduation, he joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia and appeared in a number of classical and contemporary productions before neophyte director George Miller, who just might have been the only person charmed by his work in the abominable Summer City, invited Gibson to audition for the titular role in his post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max. The night before the audition, Gibson received a serious thrashing in a barroom brawl that left him with a face “like a busted grapefruit.” He must have looked the part of the futuristic hero Mad Max with his fresh stitches and swollen, bruised mug, because he nabbed the assignment. The 1980 film became the highest-grossing Aussie movie in history, and in 1982, the even more successful sequel, The Road Warrior, was released in the States to ecstatic crowds — Gibson’s star had become visible from all continents.
With director Peter Weir’s World War I epic Gallipoli, Gibson vaulted over the hazardous action-picture trap and won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor. The ambitious The Year of Living Dangerously may have left everyone befuddled by its convoluted plot-line, but The Bounty and Mrs. Soffel underscored the dawning reality that Gibson was a fine actor as well as a nice-looking chap (in 1985, he was named People’s first ever “Sexiest Man Alive”). But he did not let the action hero languish: as a loopy, suicidal cop in the 1987 mega-hit, Lethal Weapon, he proved he still had boffo box-office appeal. Gibson had earned the right to play both sides: no one laughed when he starred in Hamlet or directed The Man Without a Face, but fans were relieved to see the $100-million-grossing Maverick in 1994. Gibson donned a Scotsman’s kilt and kicked English ass as Braveheart’s William Wallace, and the film earned him Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. In 1996, Gibson helmed the Ron Howard nail-biter Ransom, playing a daring airline tycoon who takes matters into his own hands when his son is kidnapped. He co-starred opposite Julia Roberts in the thriller Conspiracy Theory, and summer 1998 witnessed him pulling out all the stops in Lethal Weapon 4.
Gibson kicked off 1999 with a starring role in the low-budget indie thriller Payback, in which he played a murder-minded professional thief seeking revenge against his unfaithful wife and a fellow criminal who have double-crossed him. Summer 2000 brought a brace of disparate, high-profile outings: he voiced a brash American rooster named Rocky in Aardman animators Peter Lord and Nick Park’s ingenious poultry farm homage Chicken Run; and he headlined as a minuteman who reluctantly joins the Revolutionary War in Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot. Upcoming projects include Costa-Gavras’ Deadline Salonika, in which he’ll portray George Polk, the CBS correspondent who was killed while investigating the questionable activities of Greek Foreign Minister Constantine Tsaldaris in 1948; and a Warner Bros. adaptation of the Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451 that he will both star in and direct.
As for his personal life, back at the ranch in Australia, Gibson plays it pretty straight; in a refreshing twist, he seems to take his family more seriously than his movies.
Occupation: Actor, Director, Producer
Date of Birth: January 3, 1956
Place of Birth: Peekskill, N.Y., USA
Sign: Sun in Capricorn, Moon in Virgo
Relations: Wife: Robyn Moore; kids: Hannah, Edward, Christian, William, Louis, Milo
Education: National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Sydney, Australia
Fan Mail: C/O International Creative Management
8942 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
USA
Mel Gibson: Credits
MOVIES
Actor
The Patriot — 2000
Chicken Run — 2000
Payback — 1999
Lethal Weapon 4 — 1998
Conspiracy Theory — 1997
Fathers’ Day — 1997
Ransom — 1996
Braveheart — 1995
Maverick — 1994
Forever Young — 1992
Lethal Weapon 3 — 1992
Hamlet — 1990
Air America — 1990
Bird on a Wire — 1990
Lethal Weapon 2 — 1989
Tequila Sunrise — 1988
Lethal Weapon — 1987
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome — 1985
The Bounty — 1984
The River — 1984
Mrs. Soffel — 1984
The Year of Living Dangerously — 1983
The Road Warrior — 1982
Gallipoli — 1981
Mad Max — 1980
Attack Force Z — 1980
Tim — 1979
Summer City/Coast of Terror — 1977
Director
Braveheart — 1995
The Man Without a Face — 1993
Producer
Payback — 1999
Other Movie Credits
Pocahontas — 1995 (Voice only)
TV
Australia’s Outback: The Vanishing Frontier — 1995 (Special; Narrator)
Earth and the American Dream — 1993 (Special; voice only)
Australia: Continent of Dreams — 1991 (Narrator)
Classic Mel: The Making of Mel Gibson’s Hamlet — 1991 (Special)
Mel Gibson Goes Back to School — 1991 (HBO Special)
MTV’s 10th Anniversary Special — 1991 (Host)
Gibson, Mel Web sites
Braveheart
Organizers of the annual Braveheart Convention with movie information and interests in Scottish history, identity and politics.
http://www.braveheart.co.uk/macbrave/
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Lethal Weapon
Images, sounds, trailer clips, and goofs from each of the Lethal Weapon movies.
http://movies.tierranet.com/lethalweapon/
Last reviewed by webshooter69
Lethal Weapon 4
Official site offers over 3 hours of archived behind the scenes film footage in RealVideo. Also, cast bios, Chris Rock sound files, Van Halen video and more.
http://www.lw4.com/
Last reviewed by DottieHinkle
Lethal Weapon 4 at Dark Horizons
Images, trailer clips, and movie news.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/1998/LethalWeapon4.htm
Last reviewed by hvrijsse
Mel Gibson Fans’ Internet Mailing List
News, subscription information, FAQ, greeting cards, chat, and message board.
http://www.villagefair.com/MelGibson/
Last reviewed by Debrabate
Mel’s Place
Mel’s Place is the place for fans of the ruggedly handsome star. Large photo gallery, filmography, links and chat.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8173/home4….
Last reviewed by gayl28012
Payback
Paramount’s official site includes cast biographies, video clips, behind the scenes information and a shooting game.
http://www.paybackmovie.com/
Last reviewed by DottieHinkle
Chicago Sun Times: Ransom
Roger Ebert reviews the film, awarding it 3 stars, and focuses primarly on the acting of Sinise and Gibson, and the direction of Ron Howard.
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1996/1…
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
James’ Braveheart Page
Quicktime movies and wav files from Braveheart.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9396/
Last reviewed by hvrijsse
Mel Gibson: Women.com Celebrity Dad Interview
Mel Gibson, father of 7, discusses his family life and gives advice on raising kids.
http://www.familyplay.com/advice/gibson.html
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Mel’s World
Pictures of Mel Gibson.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8800/mel.htm
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Not Obsessed with Mel Gibson
Photos, e-cards, autographs, collages, artwork, games, and links.
http://www.sillyone.com/Mel/
Last reviewed by affiliatelounge
Patriot: A Fan Site
Story of the film, cast info, photos, reviews, news, sound clips, and various fan ramblings.
http://www.geocities.com/patriotgirl2000/
Last reviewed by webshooter69
Sexy Male Celebrities: Mel Gibson
Biography of Mel.
http://www.kcweb.com/superm/m_gibson.htm
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
The Ages of Mel
Collection of photos from Mel Gibson at age 4 and up.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5405/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Yes, Mel Gibson
Favorite Mel scenes sorted by category: raging Mel, marathon Mel, and Wet T-shirt.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5253/mel…
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Photo Gallery
Topics: Celebrities, Director, Producer
Tags: Actor, Braveheart, Mel Gibson, Movies, Producer
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