Trivia

Almost turned down the role of William Wallace in Braveheart (1995) because he thought he was too old for the role. He asked the producers if he could direct it instead. A compromise was made, he could direct the movie if he agreed to portray Wallace.

He was a mentor to the late actor Heath Ledger.

His father, Hutton Gibson, moved the family from upstate New York to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1968 after winning as a contestant on Jeopardy! (1964).

For The Passion of the Christ (2004), which he directed, wrote and produced, he spent 25 million dollars of his own money. Back in 1992, he started doing research for the movie that was not released until 2004.

In interviews promoting The Passion of the Christ (2004), Gibson admitted that depression had led him to contemplate suicide, and that he made the film to "heal" himself.

Has a horseshoe kidney (two kidneys fused into one).

He took up acting only because his sister submitted an application behind his back. The night before an audition, he got into a fight, and his face was badly beaten, an accident that won him the role.

Turned down the chance to voice a parody of himself in the _"Family Guy" (1999)_North by North-Quohag_. He later admitted in an interview that he regretted the decision because he thought the episode was hilarious.

Turned down the role of Kyle Reese in James Cameron's The Terminator (1984).

Separated from wife Robyn in June 2006. She finally filed for divorce in April 2009 but it wasn't finalized until December 2011, reportedly because it took them all that time to divide Gibson's estimated assets of $850 million. It is considered the biggest divorce payout in Hollywood history.

In the movie Forever Young (1992), he needed to appear older in the last few scenes. Because his eyes were so bright blue, no matter how many wrinkles they put on him, he did not look authentically older. So, he had to wear gray contacts, in order to look old.

Was considered for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989) (particularly with Richard Donner directing), but he was busy with Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).

Was considered for the role of Wolverine in X-Men (2000), but was deemed too expensive.

Director Martin Scorsese sent him the script for The Departed (2006), offering him the role of Ellerby. Gibson was unable to accept the role as he was starting production on Apocalypto (2006) that same year. Alec Baldwin later took the role.

The Road Warrior (1981) (aka The Road Warrior) is his favorite out of the "Mad Max" series.

Has his own private chapel in his grounds, where he attends mass every day.

Along with Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner one of 6 people to win and Academy Award for "Best Director", though they are mainly known as actors.

He was considered for the role of James Bond in both The Living Daylights (1987) and GoldenEye (1995) before Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were cast respectively. Albert R. Broccoli turned him down for the former because he wasn't British and he turned down the latter because he was busy with Braveheart (1995).

On the 1st of August 2006, he checked himself into a recovery program for alcohol abuse. His wife, Robyn, separated from him that same month.

He was the first Australian actor to be paid $1,000,000 for a film role.

He turned down the role of John McClane in Die Hard (1988).

Like his character Riggs in the Lethal Weapon Movie series he is a big fan of The Three Stooges.

Works with Survivor Mitzvah Project, a charitable group that brings emergency aid to Holocaust survivors in Eastern Europe.

Braveheart (1995) is ranked #62 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.

Was offered the role of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables (1987), but had to decline because he was already working on Lethal Weapon (1987).

Has nine children from three women: seven children from his marriage to Robyn Gibson: daughter, Hannah Gibson (born 1980); twin sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982); son, Willie Gibson (born 1985); son, Louie Gibson (born 1988); son, Milo Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999); daughter, Lucia (born 2009), from his relationship with Oksana Grigorieva; and son, Lars (born 2017), with girlfriend Rosalind Ross.

His voice in Mad Max (1979) was dubbed for the film's US release.

A chain smoker for most of his career, in 2004 Gibson's wife persuaded him to limit his addiction to just three cigarettes a day. However this did not last.

Owns a production company, Icon International, with branches in the USA, Australia, and the UK.

His family line goes back several generations in Australia, but his ancestors originally came from Ireland, Scotland and England (ancestor of John Gibson, c. 1601).

Friends with Jodie Foster, and Robert Downey Jr..

According to fan magazines of the day, his father moved the family to Australia to lessen his sons' chances of serving in Vietnam.

Ranked number 1 on Forbes's 2004 "Celebrity 100 List". He was the highest paid celebrity in 2004 with a reported $210,000,000 salary from his The Passion of the Christ (2004) profits, plus a potential $150,000,000 that is yet to be accounted for. He made more money than Oprah Winfrey ($210,000,000), J.K. Rowling ($147,000,000), Tiger Woods & Michael Schumacher ($80,000,000 each) and Steven Spielberg ($75,000,000) in 2004.

Chosen as People Magazine's first "Sexiest Man Alive." (1985)

His mother was born in County Longford, Ireland and his father was born in Peekskill, New York. Mel's paternal grandmother, Eva Mylott, was an Australian contralto opera singer, whose own parents were Irish as well. Mel's paternal grandfather, John Hutton Gibson, was a wealthy American businessman from a family based in the American South; John was of mostly Irish descent, and also had English, Scottish, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), and Welsh, roots.

Is expecting his ninth child with girlfriend Rosalind Ross. It is the ninth child for him and the first child for her.[September 2016].

Roommates with Geoffrey Rush after college (the National Institute of Dramatic Art) when they were in an acting company (called Jane Street) together that was affiliated with NIDA. Geoffrey Rush trained at La Cocq Mime School in France.

His performance as "Mad" Max Rockatansky in the "Mad Max" trilogy is ranked #78 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

He was voted the 48th "Greatest Movie Star" of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

He turned down the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in Batman Forever (1995), due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart (1995).

Has struggled with alcoholism.

In early December 2004, he flew to Fiji, where he bought the 2,160 hectare island of Mago from a Japanese hotel chain for $15 million. He plans to turn the Pacific paradise, which is home to forty residents (mostly coconut farmers and their families) into his own personal retreat. The South Pacific island boasts two lagoons and stunning white-sand beaches. The sale was finalized in March 2005.

Was investigated for domestic violence by Malibu/Lost Hills station detectives, in reference to an incident between him an ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva on January 6, 2010. (July 2010)

Due to the worldwide recession in 2008, his personal fortune is reported to have declined from around $900 million to $650 million.

Directed one Oscar nominated performance: Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge (2016).

Has been under restraining order since July, 2010, after an episode of domestic violence with his then girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. In return, he filed for a restraining order against ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. (June 2010).

Voted the most powerful Christian in Hollywood in a poll by religious website Beliefnet.com in October 2007.

Sold his home in Connecticut in July 2010 to settle his divorce with ex-wife Robyn.

Played a pilot in four movies: Bird on a Wire (1990), Air America (1990), Forever Young (1992) and Ransom (1996).

On July 28, 2006, he was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu, California. He did three-year probation following the misdemeanor drunken driving arrest in which he made derogatory comments about Jews and women.