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Mel Gibson Says Acting Career ‘Was Almost By Accident’

Screenshot from Movieguide® on YouTube

Mel Gibson Says Acting Career ‘Was Almost By Accident’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Mel Gibson is reflecting on his beginnings as an actor, from Australia’s indie movie scene to what pushed him into acting in the first place.  

“I was fortunate because I came along just at the right time for a kind of wave of filmmakers in Australia that had been dormant for a while,” Gibson said during an episode of Andrew Erwin’s “Storytellers” podcast. 

Gibson moved to Australia with his family when he was 12 years old and, once he started acting, fell into the country’s indie movie world. 

“This whole new wave kind of came back through again in the late ’70s, and that’s just about when I was stepping into a career,” he explained, pointing to roles in Peter Weir’s GALLIPOLI and George Miller’s MAD MAX movies. 

Gibson continued, “I was fortunate just to coincide with these guys and watch them.”

“To be able to work with men of this caliber — and they were so different, you know — for me, it was like I was a kid in a candy store,” he said. “I was the guy that never went to my trailer.”

Gibson called the low-budget productions “great,” reminiscing about a very early morning when the crew snuck up to the top of the Pyramids to film. 

“I found myself dragging camera equipment up to the top of a pyramid,” he said. “There were no union pigeonholes — everybody was just there to get it done.”

Gibson also reflected on what drew him to acting. The actor said he had always loved SUPERMAN and the Marx Brothers, “but [acting] wasn’t some burning need that I had to fulfill in myself. It was almost by accident. I was really just at odds of what to do when I finished high school.”

His sister encouraged him to try out for drama school, and Gibson decided to give acting a try. 

“It was about a year into when I realized, ‘I kind of like this. I think it’s really interesting,’” he shared. 

READ MORE: MEL GIBSON’S HOLLYWOOD COMEBACK: WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND WITH GRACE

Gibson was recently named one of President-elect Donald Trump’s “special ambassadors” to promote business in Hollywood, alongside actors Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone. 

“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. 

In a statement given to Variety, Gibson said, “I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised. Nevertheless, I heed the call. My duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can,” joking, “Any chance the position comes with an Ambassador’s residence?” 

READ MORE: HERE’S WHEN MEL GIBSON WILL FILM ‘SUPER AMBITIOUS’ PASSION OF THE CHRIST SEQUEL


Watch THE SNOOPY SHOW: Season Three
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Watch THE SNOOPY SHOW: Season Three
Quality: - Content: +2