Mel Gibson praises Robert Downey Jr for supporting him amid Hollywood blacklisting
In 2006, Mel Gibson was persona non grata in Hollywood after making antisemitic remarks following a drink-driving arrest and his career has never fully recovered, but the fallen superstar will forever be grateful for the support of Robert Downey Jr.
The two first crossed paths when they played the lead roles in Roger Spottiswoode’s 1990 action comedy Air America, and they’ve remained close ever since. In fact, the pair have constantly provided a presence for the other to lean on, even during the darkest moments of their respective careers.
When Downey Jr was hitting the headlines for his off-screen behaviour during his well-publicised battle with addiction issues, he found himself in the unwanted position of being uninsurable. The actor was deemed too risky to be hired for a major production, with his undoubted talents placed in real danger of fizzling out.
However, when he was cast in the lead role in 2003’s crime caper The Singing Detective, in what was his first time being awarded top billing in a movie for years, it was producer Gibson who stumped up the entire insurance bond out of his own pocket to allow Downey Jr could take the part.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran even suggested that if he were to return for a hypothetical Iron Man 4, then Gibson would be his preferred choice to direct. The star never forgets the people who lent him a helping hand along the way, which he’d already shown in the comic book franchise when Kiss Kiss Bang Bang‘s Shane Black was hand-selected to helm the movie.
Despite Gibson being exiled from mainstream Hollywood following his own fall from grace, he’s remained close with the Academy Award-winning Oppenheimer star. Even though he has drastically undersold the severity of his actions, the Lethal Weapon figurehead nonetheless thanked Downey Jr for his unwavering support.
“One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career,” he told Esquire. “I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid shit, and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I’m the poster boy for cancelled.”
Even though Gibson remains a constantly controversial presence, Downey Jr has continued to his back. “We always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off,” Gibson explained.
He added: “So I was pretty much non-existent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me. It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that.”
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