Actors - Mel Gibson

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	Actors - Mel Gibson

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American-born Australian-reared actor, Academy Award winning 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
. In February of 1985, he became the first person to garner the title of "Sexiest Man Alive" from People magazine.

Overview

Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of ten children born to Hutton Gibson (the son of a US businessman John Hutton Gibson and an Irish-Australian opera singer Eva Mylott) and Anne Reilly Gibson (who was born in the USA to Irish immigrants). 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.

Although Gibson always maintained his United States citizenship, he lived in Australia from the age of twelve. Following a victory on the TV game show Jeopardy!, Gibson's father moved his family to Australia in 1968 in protest of the Vietnam War for which his elder sons were potentially at risk for being drafted, and also because he believed that changes in American society were immoral. Early Gibson films feature a distinct, noticeable Australian accent.

Some people have criticised Mel Gibson and his father for their traditional Catholic beliefs and political views, which have drawn accusations of Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Extremely devoted to his faith, as evidenced by his production of The Passion of the Christ
, Mel Gibson has donated money to finance the construction of an "Independent" Traditional Catholic chapel in Malibu, California, in which only the Latin Tridentine Mass is celebrated.

Gibson married Robyn Moore on June 7, 1980, with whom he has the following children:

daughter, Hannah (born 1980)
twin sons, Edward and Christian (born 1982)
son, Willie (born 1985)
son, Louis (born 1988)
son, Milo (born 1990)
son, Tommy (born 1999)

Rumors that Hannah was going 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 Gibson. Hutton never disapproved of her religion, saying that "true love knows no boundaries". Nor has Gibson attempted to convert her (although all their children are Catholic, not Anglican).

Film career

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

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
. Gibson's boyish good looks made him a natural for leading man roles. In 1984, he made his US movie debut, starring as Fletcher Christian in The Bounty
. Actor Anthony Hopkins played Captain Bligh opposite Gibson.

In December 2005, it was announced that Gibson will produce a television movie about Dutch Holocaust survivor Flory Van Beek, although it had been rumoured previously that he would make a movie about the Maccabees.

Gibson's next film, Apocalypto, will be a mythic action-adventure set in the days of the Mayan civilization.

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 comedic actor, in movies such as Maverick
(1994) and What Women Want
(2000).

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mel Gibson ]

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