In 1995, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in Braveheart, a historical epic, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, the Academy Award for Best Director, and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the World War I drama Gallipoli (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute, as well as a reputation as a serious, versatile actor. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a production company, which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called 'an alternative to the studio system'. He studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of Romeo and Juliet. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocalyptic action series Mad Max and as Martin Riggs in the buddy cop film series Lethal Weapon.īorn in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, when he was 12 years old. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson AO (born Janu) is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter.
