Mel Gibson names his biggest directorial influences
Actor or director? Actor/director? That phrase is sometimes problematic when it comes to summing up the career of a talent like Mel Gibson. You want to make sure the balance feels fair so as not to take anything away from their achievements in either capacity, and there are few industry stars, either living or dead, who can come close to the achievements and heights of his career.
I mean, come on, Gibson was the quintessential “star” of the 1980s and 1990s and hell, even halfway into the 2000s before the cat got out of the bag and it became apparent that the guy who made his career playing Mad Max was actually a pretty despicable character at heart. Tanking your reputation with repeated outbursts of antisemitism seemed to have killed off Mad Mel’s career for good after a lukewarm attempt at returning to acting in 2010, but Hollywood loves a comeback story, and that’s exactly what Gibson managed to pull off in the director’s chair.
Gibson, already well established as a director thanks to his 1995 Academy Award for helming Braveheart and for historical/biblical epics Apocalypto and The Passion of the Christ, made his high-profile return to directing in 2016 with Hacksaw Ridge. The film won two Academy Awards, but Gibson missed out on a chance to nab another ‘Best Director’.
However, the comeback solidified, and with sequels in the works for Lethal Weapon and The Passion of the Christ, it seems Gibson’s star is not quite extinguished yet. This leads us to wonder—what are the notorious former Hollywood icon’s influences nowadays when it comes to directing?
Going way back to an interview from 2000, Gibson was asked about his directorial influences, and unsurprisingly, the first two names mentioned as early influences are Peter Weir and George Miller. Miller cast Gibson as Mad Max back in the original 1979 film of the same name, allowing the then up-and-coming actor to breakout out on the scene, while Wier would cement Gibson’s status as a leading man by casting him in wartime epic Gallipoli, a few years later in 1981.
On working with the two legendary directors so early in his career, Gibson had the following to say about their influence on his career: “They influenced me tremendously. If your first dalliance in film was with these two guys…I was a stranger to film up until that point. They’re both very different as men and very different in their approach to filmmaking, which was a great lesson because it showed me that there’s no right way to make a film because they both achieved excellence from a totally different perspective. It was a wonderful experience working with them. I was always asking questions, and they were both very generous people and would answer because I was like the annoying kid, ‘What’s that?’ and they were all too willing to share their thoughts and their vision. For me, that was like heaven.”
However, the interviewer recognised they would be remiss not to talk to Gibson about his most frequent collaborator as an actor, Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner, otherwise known by Gibson affectionately as “Uncle Dick”.
He added: “He’s a great guy, just terrific. Extremely professional. He’s an old veteran and has an understanding of film that is the culmination of years of experience. He’s got his technical stuff down, his vision down. No matter what you say about Dick, it underrates him. He really loves what he’s doing, loves working with actors and he allows you freedom to explore all kind of areas. ‘All right kid,’ he’ll say, and slap you on the back and let you try something because even he doesn’t know sometimes. He’s just an extremely charming, talented, great fuckin’ guy. I love him.”
Gibson has had a startling career, and it’s clear that the influence of great directors like Miller, Weir, and Donner has contributed to his success as a director. If this were 2006, we are pretty sure he wouldn’t be receiving sentiments similar to those that Gibson shared about his own influences. However, stars who have recently worked with the director have spoken out in his favour, including Hacksaw Ridge lead Andrew Garfield.
Who knows? With his upcoming film about Christ rising from the dead, Gibson may finally find a true resurrection of his career and be redeemed for his own sins.
