Mel Gibson: From 'Mad Max' Nobody To 'Braveheart'

By | October 22, 2020

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Mel Gibson in 'Mad Max.' Source: IMDB

Mel Gibson was Mad Max in 1979. He really was, in a way. The handsome Australian actor strolling onto American movie screens, a veneer of outback dust on his cheeks and leather duds. Through Mad Max sequels The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome, and the Peter Weir-directed Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously, the world came to know Gibson as the brooding yet charismatic leading man from Down Under. Gibson turned out to be not quite as Australian as we originally thought, and he turned out to have a few other issues, but he did keep us entertained through three Lethal Weapon films and, of course, Braveheart.

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Mel Gibson, a man capable of incredible highs and terrible lows. (imdb)

Many Hollywood stars follow a similar path to fame and fortune. But Mel Gibson, like his character in Braveheart, blazed his own trail, for better and for worse. Born in Peekskill, New York, his road to stardom took its first abrupt turn when his father moved the entire family of 11 children to Sydney, Australia when Mel was 12.

It was a very random move but Gibson’s father was concerned that his five sons would get drafted into Vietnam. Once settled Down Under, Mel Gibson had no plans to go into acting. In fact, Gibson was working at an orange juice bottling company when one of his many sisters applied on his behalf to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Amazingly, he was accepted despite not having any previous acting experience.