It's all happening too fast. I've got to put the brakes on or I'll smack into something.

— Mel Gibson





MEL GIBSON before starring in Signs was last seen in We Were Soldiers as Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Moore that sees him re-team with Randall Wallace, who wrote “Braveheart,” which Gibson directed and in which he starred. The film won five Academy Awards out of ten nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Gibson’s company Icon Productions, which Gibson created with Bruce Davey, who serves as its president, produced “Braveheart,” along with many other movies including the recent box-office hit “What Women Want” Gibson starred in this romantic comedy and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his work. He also starred in the Revolutionary War drama “ Patriot, The,” winning the People’s Choice Award for his performance, and he was one of the featured voices in the animated movie “Chicken Run.” Gibson’s performances range from the extremely successful “Lethal Weapon” series to the spirited western “Maverick” to the psychological thriller “Conspiracy Theory” to such Icon Productions as “Hamlet,” directed by Franco Zefirrelli, “Forever Young,” “The Man Without A Face,” which marked his directorial debut, and the hit thriller “Payback.”

Gibson was born in upstate New York and moved with his family to Australia when he was 12 years old. He attended the National Institute of Dramatic Arts at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney. Gibson was eventually brought to the attention of director George Miller who cast him in “Mad Max,” the film that first brought him worldwide recognition. This was followed by the title role in “Tim.” Gibson’s portrayal of a handicapped young man won him an Australian Film Institute Best Actor Award. He went on to reprise his role as Max in “The Road Warrior” and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” and teamed with director Peter Weir in “Gallipoli,” which brought Gibson a second Australian Best Actor Award. A few years later, Weir and Gibson again collaborated on “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Gibson made his American film debut in “The River.” His other films include the box-office hit “Ransom,” which garnered him a Golden Globe nomination and a People’s Choice Award, “The Bounty,” “Mrs. Soffel,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Bird on a Wire” and “Air America.”