In February of 1985, he was the first person ever to garner the title of "Sexiest Man Alive" from People magazine.

    Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of ten children born to Hutton Gibson (whose parents were US businessman, John Hutton Gibson, and Irish-Australian opera singer Eva Mylott) and Anne Reilly Gibson (who was born in the parish of Columcille, County Longford, Ireland). 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. His unusual first name comes from a 5th-century Irish saint, Mel, who was the founder of the diocese of Ardagh, which contains most of his mother's native county.

    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.

    Extremely devoted to his faith, 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 claims to go to Catholic Mass everyday.

    Gibson married Robyn Moore, whom he initially met through a dating service, 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". Gibson has not attempted to convert her, and maintains that she is "a saint" and a much better person than he, but also holds to his Catholic belief that there "is no salvation outside the Church" and, as such, believes the possibility that his wife could go to Hell.[1]

    Mel Gibson is the most viciously and relentlessly tortured actor in film history. In the movie Mad Max, Mel Gibson watched his family be run over and murdered. In Lethal Weapon he was subjected to torture through electrocution for information. It was found to be a pointless endeavor because he knew nothing. He was then to be murdered through electrocution at which point he killed his would be murderer by strangling him with his legs. In Lethal Weapon 2 he watched in horror as his girlfriend was murdered by drowning then faced drowning himself, only freeing himself from his chains as he was drowning by dislocating his shoulder which he later put back into place with a hellish howl. He was stabbed in the back of the leg and the knife was driven deeper in a torturous scene. He later killed that attacker by crushing him with a massive cargo container. He was then shot about 8 times in the back with a broomhandle mauser. He gagged, coughed up blood and gasped for several minutes to close the movie. In Lethal Weapon 3 he faced a fight with a much tougher opponent and was thrashed relentlessly for a few moments. Later that evening his best friend sucker punched him very hard sending him flying. In Forever Young he undergoes a 50+ year freeze. At the end of the movie he ages 50+ years in twenty minutes going through intense pain. In The Man Without a Face he has a massive facial scar that covers the entire side of his head and neck. In the sequence explainging this injury he was driving a car and a student of his surprised him in revealing he had a homosexual crush on him. This startled Gibson's character and caused him to crash. His life was torture in the aftermath. In Braveheart he was forced to watch as his one love had her throat cut by an English officer. The movie depicted some of the most graphic violence ever at the time of its release. He was later subjected to horrendous tortures, including a stretch on the rack and disembowlement while being alive and fully concious. In Payback he was taken captive and tied to a chair. He was tortured for information by having his toes pulverized with a hammer.

    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 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.

    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).

    In 1996, Gibson received two Academy Awards (Best Director and Best Picture) for Braveheart (1995), based on the life of Sir William Wallace, a thirteenth century Scottish knight who fought the English in the late 13th century and early 14th century. Gibson played Wallace.

    Gibson co-wrote, produced and directed The Passion of the Christ (2004), a movie in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin, recounting a description of the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus. The movie has received applause, including from Christian figures and a few politically conservative Jewish leaders and scholars (e.g., Michael Medved, David Horowitz, and Steven Waldman).

    The movie has been criticised by some Christian and Jewish leaders and scholars, a majority of whom claimed that it may promote anti-Semitism, as it relies on imagery similar to that of folkish passion-plays, a mainstream rural Christian tradition that some activists believe to be capable of inciting anti-Semitic incidents. The movie has been criticised by a group of Protestant scholars for its adherence in a number of scenes and details to the visions of a 17th century mystic and nun, the Venerable Mary of Agreda and a 19th century German visionary, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, both Roman Catholics.

    Gibson was asked if his movie would be offensive to Jews today; his response was:

        It's not meant to. I think it's meant to just tell the truth. I want to be as truthful as possible.

    He also stated on his decision to cut a scene in which Caiaphas says "his blood be on us and on our children" soon after Pontius Pilate washes his hands of Jesus:

        I wanted it in. My brother said I was wimping out if I didn't include it. But, man, if I included that in there, they'd be coming after me at my house. They'd come to kill me. [2], [3], [4], [5]

    In spite of the criticism (or perhaps helped by it), the movie grossed US$611,899,420 worldwide ($370,782,930 in the US alone) and became the eighth highest-grossing film in history and the highest-grossing rated R film of all time. The ticket sales were boosted by the film attracting viewers who generally do not attend theaters, including entire congregations from churches attending together. [6] The film was nominated for Best Music (Score), Best Cinematography, and Best Makeup at the 77th Academy Awards and won the People's Choice Award for Best Drama.

    Gibson's next historical epic, Apocalypto, will be released into theaters in December of 2006. The film is set 600 years ago in Meso-America, before the Spanish conquest, during the decline of the Maya. Dialogue is spoken in the Yucatec Maya language, in the same way Gibson used Aramaic and Latin for his The Passion of the Christ. It will feature a cast of unknown actors from Mexico City, the Yucatán, and some Native Americans from the United States.

    While Gibson financed the film himself, Disney will release it in certain markets.

    All that has been revealed about the plot is that the film is set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. When a Mayan man's idyllic existence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

    The title is a Greek term which means " an unveiling" or "new beginning", but the movie is not religiously themed or connected to the biblical Apocalypse.

    Many gay rights groups accused Gibson of homophobia, after a 1992 interview in the Spanish magazine El Pais. In the interview, when asked what he thought of gay people, he said, "They take it up the ass." Gibson then bent over and pointed to his buttocks, saying, "This is only for taking a shit." When the interviewer recalled that Gibson previously had expressed fear that people would think he is gay because he's an actor, Gibson responded by saying, "Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?". Gibson later defended his comments on Good Morning America, saying, "I don't think there's an apology necessary, and I'm certainly not giving one. [Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone wants my opinion, I'll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?" [7][8]

    In January 1997, to make amends with the gay community and to show that he wasn't homophobic, Gibson hosted along with Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) ten lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie Conspiracy Theory. During the seminar Gibson provided up-and-coming lesbian and gay filmmakers with an up-close and personal look into the inner workings of a major Hollywood feature film. [9]

    Other groups were later angry at the depiction of a homosexual character in Braveheart. Although historians agree that the character, the Prince (later King) Edward II of England, was indeed homosexual, and also agree with what was portrayed in the movie of the King being a mere puppet of Thomas of Lancaster (though Edward's father never threw his lover out of a window, as portrayed in the movie), historians dispute the portrayal of Edward as effeminate. It should also be noted that Gibson did not write the screenplay for that film. [10][11]

    Gibson was accused of homophobia once more in his movies with his portrayal of Herod Antipas in The Passion of the Christ. Antipas is portrayed as an effeminate homosexual (despite not being stated, it was implied as such, with the character wearing makeup and having 'boy-toys'). Although this was a common caricature of Herod in medieval Passion plays, it does not appear in the Gospels and is contrary to the historical record regarding Antipas. [12] [13] [14]

    Many of Gibson's positions are in accordance with traditional Catholicism. In 2004 he publicly condemned taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research that involves the cloning and destruction of human embryos. In March 2005 he issued a statement condemning the ending of Terri Schiavo's life. He is, however, a proponent of the death penalty, which the Catholic Church's doctrine allows for under specific circumstances and a specific level of necessity, but which modern popes have said is rarely if ever justifiable in modern society due to such necessity almost never existing today.[15] He is also a supporter of gun ownership. In 2004, he told an Australian celebrity magazine (later reported by MSNBC) that he thought that despite his wife's similar devoutness to Christianity, she would not receive salvation because she wasn't Catholic, but Anglican.

    Mel Gibson has never identified himself as being a conservative Republican, but he has been perceived as such to the point that The Washington Times called him one. He joined many of his colleagues in the entertainment industry in opposition to the Iraq War and praised the liberal director Michael Moore and his documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11, leading some to see him as a "real" (traditional) conservative in opposition to the neoconservative policies of the Bush administration and others to believing he leans toward a libertarian viewpoint. Gibson's Icon Productions was originally set to back Moore's film but mysteriously backed out. Moore claimed in 2004, "[Icon Productions] got a call from top Republicans to tell Mel Gibson don't expect to get more invitations to the White House." [16] In 2006 Gibson told Hotdog Magazine, a UK film magazine, that the "fearmongering" depicted in his film Apocalypto "reminds me a little of President Bush and his guys." [17] Many fans have perceived The Patriot (2000), We Were Soldiers (2001) and The Passion of the Christ (2004) as conservative movies.

    In a July 1995 interview with Playboy magazine, Gibson said President Bill Clinton was a "low-level opportunist" because someone was "telling him what to do." He said he thought Clinton and other politicians who had won Rhodes Scholarships were part of a "stealth" trend of Rhodes scholars becoming politicians who were striving for a "new world order." He said this was a form of Marxism and that "Karl had the right idea."[1][2] During the interview, Gibson also said the assassinations (or attempts) of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan may have been related to actions they took regarding the Federal Reserve; he said his father told him about this theory.

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