Mel Gibson was one of Hollywood's biggest stars before becoming the center of enormous controversy. The actor was born on January 3rd, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, before his family moved to Sydney, Australia, when he was just 12 years old. In his youth, Gibson contemplated joining the priesthood or studying journalism. However, he settled on a job at an orange juice bottling plant. Fortunately, his sister took it upon herself to enroll him at the Institute of Dramatic Arts due to his hidden talent for doing impersonations and his ability to reproduce realistic accents.
Gibson worked on several Australian stage plays and media productions upon completing his training. He achieved instant mainstream and international fame with the 1979s dystopian action film Mad Max. As a result, he was cast as the lead in the critically acclaimed World War I film Gallipoli, which earned him the Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute and cemented his reputation as a serious and versatile performer. However, his personal life has been plagued by controversy, making him one of the most divisive stars in Hollywood. The same is true for the movies he's directed. Almost every single one has caused an uproar...
6 The Bounty
In 1984, Gibson starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in The Bounty. During the filming, the cast engaged in serious drinking sessions. He subsequently returned to his family with an alcohol addiction which proved challenging to overcome. Previously known for his acting talent, leading man good looks, and ability to sell movie tickets, the American-born Australian actor's career has increasingly been overshadowed by incidents highlighting his temper and addictions. Frequently, alcohol-fueled verbal outbursts and antisemitic rants. This film represented the beginning of it all.
5 Pocahontas
The Native American Disney Princess, based on the real-life historical figure, is all about doing what's right for her people. So when her father, chief of the Powhatan tribe, refuses to go to England to negotiate a peace treaty, Pocahontas is quick to step up and take his place. But when she finally arrives in the new world, she is bullied into acting civilized and is eventually rescued by John Smith (voiced by Mel Gibson). However, she doesn't even get to fight her own battles. The film ultimately stereotypically portrayed American Indians, failing to show a story closer to the graphic and brutal real one.
4 We Were Soldiers
Mel Gibson stars as Hal Moore. The film begins in 1964 at the height of the Cold War. The western world's eyes were locked on a remote corner of southeast Asia called Vietnam. Gone were the days of its french imperialism, and a new question formed on everyone's mind: Would Vietnam's future ultimately be based under a regime of capitalism or communism? Based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and war journalist Joseph L. Galloway, this is the story about America's first significant battle in The Vietnam War. The movie is focused on the history behind the conflict rather than the controversial politics. For the nature of the topic, the film caused controversy regarding its historical accuracy. Nevertheless, Moore says the film is about 60 percent accurate.
3 Force of Nature
Directed by Michael Polish, it stars Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth, and Mel Gibson. The story is set in Puerto Rico in the middle of a category five hurricane. Hirsch's character, officer Cardillo, is tasked with evacuating an apartment building. He encounters a doctor and her stubborn father during his task, who refuses to leave the building. At the same time, a group of criminals infiltrated the apartment to rob one of the tenants, forcing Cardillo, the doctor, and the father to join forces and fight the criminals before the hurricane drowns the city. According to Digital Spy, some viewers "criticized the movie for its 'white savior' narrative with Gibson's character 'fighting a bunch of 'bad guy' Ricans.'"
2 The Passion of the Christ
Throughout the 90s, Gibson remained a compelling force at the box office with many hits, including Air America, Bird on a Wire, Forever Young, Maverick, Ransom, Conspiracy Theory, and even as the bad guy in Payback. However, his most significant accomplishment of the decade was the result of his directorial debut with 1993's The Man Without a Face. Shortly following his overwhelming box-office success in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, in which he played a priest who had lost his faith, Mel Gibson became the subject of intense controversy with the release of his deeply personal religious project, The Passion of the Christ, in 2004.
The result was a public and Hollywood uproar over the perception that the film was outwardly antisemitic, demonizing Jewish people at every turn. Remarkably, the controversy became a powerful marketing tool, and the film set a new record for pre-sales and became the number one film in America, taking in $850 million.
1 Apocalypto
Gibson's follow-up project again landed him in the director's chair for Apocalypto, an epic said at the end of the Mayan civilization. Hollywood has never really made a film about The Maya civilization before, so this project was something different and unique, a historical film bringing to life a long-dead civilization that many people know. According to The Guardian, the film was accused of denigrating Mayan culture. Unflinchingly, it became a hit despite coinciding with media coverage of Gibson's second arrest for impaired driving and further antisemitic backlash following his drunken remarks to a police officer.
