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Trivia
Birth name: Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson
Date of birth: 3 January 1956
Place of birth: Peekskill, New York, USA
Nickname: Mel
Height: 5' 10½" (1.79 m)
Spouse: Robyn Moore (7 June 1980 - present) 7 children
Children: daughter, Hannah Gibson
(born 1980); twin sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982);
son, Willie Gibson (born 1985); son, Louis Gibson (born 1988); son, Milo
Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999).
Ranked #12 in Empire (UK) magazine's
"The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Born at 4:45pm-EST.
Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of
the "50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1996]
Educated at University of New South Wales,
Australia.
Attended drama school with Judy Davis. They
played Romeo and Juliet together.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the
"50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1991]
Chosen by People magazine as one of the
"50 Most Beautiful People" in the world. [1990]
Trained at NIDA (National Institute of
Dramatic Arts). As well as Judy Davis, other fellow students, during his
time there, included Colin Friels and Dennis Olsen.
Awarded the AO (Officer of the Order of
Australia), Australia's highest honor, in mid-1997.
Roommates with Geoffrey Rush in college.
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.
Brother of actor, Donal Gibson.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the
"100 Sexiest Stars" in film history (#37). [1995]
Chosen as People Magazine's first
"Sexiest Man Alive." [1985]
Is a big fan of The Three Stooges.
First studied drama at the New Zealand Drama
School, Toi Whakaari in Wellington, New Zealand. After getting accepted
he completed the course and used this as a foot-in into NIDA in
Australia in 1975.
He and his wife met through a dating
service.
Has a horseshoe kidney (two kidneys fused
into one).
Abstains from alcohol completely.
Owns a production company with branches in
the USA, Australia and the UK.
Ranked #15 in Premiere's 2003 annual
"Power 100" list. Had ranked #17 in 2002.
His voice in Mad Max (1979) was dubbed for
the film's US release.
The doctor who delivered him into the world
was Charles Sweet, grandfather of actor Jay Danger.
He was a part of the movment dubbed the
"Australian New Wave" by the press. They were a group of
filmmakers and performers who emerged from Down Under at about the same
time in the early 1980's and found work in other parts of the world.
Other members included actress Judy Davis and directors George Miller,
Gillian Armstrong and Peter Weir.
He was the first Australian actor to be paid
$1,000,000 for a film role.
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.
Shares birthday with J.R.R. Tolkien.
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.
Has 7 children: daughter, Hannah Gibson
(born 1980); twin sons, Edward Gibson and Christian Gibson (born 1982);
son, Willie Gibson (born 1985); son, Louis Gibson (born 1988); son, Milo
Gibson (born 1990); son, Tommy Gibson (born 1999).
Son, Christian Gibson, is a freshman at the
University of Colorado at Boulder. [Fall 2001]
Was considered for the role of James Bond in
GoldenEye (1995).
Ranked #10 in Premiere's 2004 annual
"Power 100" list. Had ranked #15 in 2003. He is the
highest-ranked actor on the 2004 list.
Has his own private chapel in his grounds,
where he attends mass every day.
He was voted the 48th "Greatest Movie
Star" of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Ranked number 1 on Forbes 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 then 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.
In Portuguese, his name means
"honey."
Was considered for the role of Batman/Bruce
Wayne in Batman (1989).
Was considered for the role of Wolverine in
X-Men (2000).
Son of the controversial Hutton Gibson and
Anne Gibson.
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 younger. So, he had to wear gray contacts, in order to
look old.
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.
Was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in May
2003, and gave the commencement address.
Ranked #15 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List.
Had ranked #10 in 2004.
His favourite films include, The Big Country
(1958), Double Indemnity (1944), and Spartacus (1960)
His family line goes back several
generations in Australia, but his ancestors originally came from Ireland
and Scotland.
Was offered the role of Eliot Ness in The
Untouchables (1987), but turned it down.
He turned down the role of Harvey Dent/Two
Face in Batman Forever due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart.
Owns a summer home in Branford, Connecticut.
When Apocalypto is finished he plans to
donate six replicas of Mayan pyramids and several movie-set villages.
Flew to Fiji in early December 2004 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, that 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.
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