<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (b. January 3, 1956) is an actor, director and Producer who was born in Peekskill, New York in the United States but later moved to New South Wales, Australia where he was raised from the age of twelve. His parents are Hutton and Anne Reilly Gibson and he is the sixth of their eleven children. Following his graduation from a Catholic high school, Gibson moved on to college intending to pursue his interest in journalism and cooking. His interests shifted to acting and he graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1977.

Contents 1 Career 2 Personal Life 3 Awards 4 External link

Career

Early roles include appearances in The Sullivans, and his feature film debut in Summer City. His notable genre acting roles have included the Mad Max trilogy of films (1979, 1981, 1985), and M. Night Shyamalan's Signs in 2002. Recent directorial projects have included the controversial The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto.

Gibson is perhaps best known for his run as Martin Riggs in Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon films opposite Danny Glover. The movies cemented him as an action hero but he has made several notable dramatic turns in the award winning Braveheart which earned him and Academy award for directing, Forever Young, Hamlet, Ransom, and The Patriot.

Personal Life

Gibson married Robyn Moore on June 7, 1980 and the couple has seven children; a girl, Hannah and six boys Edward, Christian, Willie, Louis, Milo and Tony. Gibson is a devout Roman Catholic and his religiously influenced opinions have been highly controversial. He has spoken out against the ending of Terry Schiavo's life and has stated that the Holy Spirit worked through him in the making of The Passion of the Christ.

Gibson has been accused on a few occasions of Homophobia and antisemitism often in connection with his films. On July 8, 2006 he was arrested for drunk driving and made several antagonistic remarks to the arresting officer including accusing Jews of being the cause of the world's problems. He has since apologized and attended rehab for his drinking.

Awards

Gibson won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his directorial turn in Braveheart which also won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Picture. He has won five people's choice awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actor, Two Australian Film Institute awards for Gallipoli and Tim, three Blockbuster Entertainment awards for The Patriot, Lethal Weapon 4, Conspiracy Theory, and Ransom.

External link

• IMDb listing
• Hollywood.com Mel Gibon
• Star Pulse - Mel Gibson
• Guardian - Mel Gibson: Proud or Prejudiced
• Daily Catholic article