Guide Note

Iconic actor/director rose to fame as the star of action films such as Mad Max and Lethal Weapon. He won the Oscar for Best Director in 1995 for the historical biopic Braveheart, which also took that year's award for Best Picture.

Gibson has become a controversial figure after directing the violent recreation of the final day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, The Passion of the Christ, and making anti-Semitic and misogynist statements during a July 28, 2006 DUI arrest near his Malibu, California home.

Fast Facts

1. Born: January 3, 1956
2. Birthplace: Peekskill, New York
3. Spouse: Robyn Moore
4. Religion: Traditionalist Catholic
5. Sixth of eleven children
6. Moved to Australia at age 12

After graduating Syndey, Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1977, Gibson landed a few roles on some Australian TV series. Early collaborations with Aussie directors George Miller (the Mad Max films) and Peter Weir (Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously) made him an international film star by the early '80s. Though many of his high-profile appearances were in action films, including the smash hit Lethal Weapon series, Gibson has worked in a variety of genres, even playing Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 adaptation of Shakespeare's play. As his directorial career has taken off, he has started acting less. His last starring role was in M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 extraterrestrial thriller Signs.

Gibson's directorial debut was the 1993 drama The Man Without a Face, in which he also starred. He followed this up with Braveheart, the epic war film that eventually took two Oscars. His third and most successful film was Passion of the Christ, which became the eighth highest-grossing film in history with a worldwide gross of $611,899,420. His most recent film was the Mayan adventure epic Apocalypto.

Many argued that the depiction of Jewish characters in The Passion of the Christ was offensive, implying that future generations of Jews would be cursed for their ancestors role in Jesus' death. Gibson responded that the film was designed to upset people and inspire conversation.

Gibson's father, writer Hutton Gibson, has also sparked anger over statements implying that the death toll from the Nazi Holocaust has been overstated and that many Jews included in victim counts simply left Europe of their own volition.

During a July 28, 2006 arrest for driving under the influence, Gibson told the arresting police officer "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," along with a variety of other potentially offensive comments. Gibson has since apologized and entered a treatment program for alcohol abuse.