 | ||
Mel Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. Gibson was a part of the Australian film renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s, beginning his acting career with a role on TV series The Sullivans, before starring in the film Mad Max (1979). In the late 1980s, he commenced acting in American films, including Lethal Weapon (1987), Maverick (1994), Braveheart (1995), Ransom (1996), What Women Want and The Patriot (2000), and Signs (2002).
After establishing a successful career as an actor, Gibson made his directorial debut with the 1993 film The Man Without a Face, which he also produced. The second film directed by Mel Gibson was the 1995, Academy Award-winning Braveheart. In 2004, he directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a controversial yet successful film portraying the last hours in the life of Jesus Christ. In 2006, Gibson directed the film Apocalypto.
Film
Gibson's first film role was in the Australian film Summer City. Over more than three decades, films starring, directed, or produced by Mel Gibson have been nominated for and won multiple awards, as well as earning more than $2.5 billion, in the United States alone.