On This Day

Birthday of Mel Gibson

January 3rd 1956

07:19 3 January 2024

American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter Mel Gibson was born on this day in 1956 in New York. Gibson moved to Australia with his parents when he was 12 years old and after leaving high school began studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. After several small roles in film and television, he gained worldwide attention when he starred in 'Mad Max' (1979) followed by critical acclaim and an Australian Film Institute Best Actor Award for the title role in 'Tim' (1979).

After winning a second AFI Best Actor Award for his performance in 'Gallipoli' (1981) he made his American feature film debut in 'The River' (1984) and from here went on to become one of Hollywood's most sought after leading men throughout the 80s and 90s with starring roles in movies including the 'Lethal Weapon' film series (1987-1998), 'Tequila Sunrise' (1988), 'Bird on a Wire' (1990), 'Air America' (1990), 'Maverick' (1994), 'Ransom' (1996),  'Conspiracy Theory' (1997) and 'Payback' (1999). Later acting credits include 'Chicken Run' (2000), 'The Patriot' (2000), 'What Women Want' (2000), 'We Were Soldiers' (2002), 'Signs' (2002), 'Edge of Darkness' (2010), 'Blood Father' (2016), 'Dragged Across Concrete' (2016), 'The Professor and the Madman' (2019), 'Boss Level' (2020), 'Fatman' (2020), 'Father Stu' (2022) and 'Desperation Road' (2023).

Gibson made his directorial debut with 'The Man Without a Face' (1993) and has gone on to prove himself to be a highly accomplished film director, winning the Academy Award for Best Director for 'Braveheart' (1995) and widespread critical acclaim and further accolades for 'The Passion of the Christ' (2004), 'Apocalypto' (2006) and 'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016). With 'Lethal Weapon' and 'The Passion of the Christ' sequels now in production, Mel Gibson remains a powerful force in modern cinema. Happy Birthday Mel.