BIOGRAPHY

    Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, NY, USA as the sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anna Gibson, who was born in Australia and died in December of 1990.
    Though born in the US, Mel and his family moved to New South Wales (1968), Australia, after his father won as a "Jeopardy!" contestant, in part because he wanted to avoid having his sons drafted in the Vietnam War. After high school Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Steve Bisley. After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in a few TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star in Mad Max (1979) and in a movie called Tim (1979) co-starring Piper Laurie. The small budgeted movie Mad Max (1979) made him known worldwide, while Tim (1979) garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute. Later he would go on to star in Gallipoli (1981), which would earn him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI.
    In 1980 he married Robyn Moore and as of today are still together and have seven children.
    In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty (1984), which co-starred Anthony Hopkins. Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series - Lethal Weapon (1987), in which he played Martin Riggs. In 1990, he took on the interesting starring role in Hamlet (1990), which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young (1992), and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face (1993). 1995 brought his most famous role as Sir William Wallace in Braveheart (1995), for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. From there, he made such box office hits as The Patriot (2000), Ransom (1996), and Payback (1999).
   Today Mel remains an international superstar mogul, continuously topping the Hollywood power lists as well as the Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists. His $25 million paycheque for The Patriot (2000) was the latest milestone for actor's salaries. The year 2001 saw the release of an independent film in which Gibson had a featured role, The Million Dollar Hotel.
    His last films have included starring roles in the comedy What Women Want (2001), the Vietnam War drama We Were Soldiers (2002) and the supernatural thriller Signs. In 2003 Gibson directed and produced "The Passion of the Christ", that is on track to gross between $350 million and $400 million. In 2005/2006, Mel Gibson directed "Apocalypto", a mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. The film opened on 8 December in USA and topped the weekendīs domestic box office.
    On April 2, 2008, Mel Gibson committed to star in  "Edge of Darkness", marking his first starring role in a feature film since he headlined "Signs" and "We Were Soldiers" in 2002. "Edge of Darkness" will be released in 2010.
    Many people were shock when Robyn Gibson filed for divorce on April 13, 2009, citing irreconcilable differences. In a joint statement, the Gibsons declared, "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so." Only two weeks later, on April 28, Mel Gibson made his first red carpet appearance alongside his lover, Oksana Grigorieva.
    On July 2009, Mel Gibson signed to star in "The Beaver". Project is currently in rehearsals, with shooting slated for late September in New York.

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"I teach my kids right and wrong and good and bad and acceptance."