Mel Gibson Biography & Wallpapers

Mel Gibson Wallpapers

Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3, 1956) is an American-born, Australian-raised actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. Born in New York, Gibson moved to Sydney (Australia) when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. After appearing in the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning Braveheart. Gibson's direction of Braveheart made him the sixth actor-turned-filmmaker to receive an Oscar for Best Director. In 2004, he directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a controversial but hugely successful film that portrayed the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ.

Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of eleven children, and the second son of Hutton Gibson and Irish-born Anne Reilly Gibson. His paternal grandmother was the Australian opera soprano, Eva Mylott (1875–1920).One of Gibson's younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor. Gibson's first name comes from Saint Mel, fifth-century Irish saint, and founder of Gibson's mother's native diocese, Ardagh, while his second name, Columcille, is also that of an Irish saint. Columcille is also the name of the parish in County Longford where Anne Reilly was born and raised. Because of his mother, Gibson holds dual citizenship: American and that of the Republic of Ireland.

Soon after being awarded $145,000 in a work-related-injury lawsuit against New York Central Railroad on February 14, 1968, Hutton Gibson relocated his family to Sydney, Australia.Gibson was 12 years old at the time. The move to Hutton's mother's native Australia was for economic reasons, and because Hutton thought the Australian military would reject his oldest son for the Vietnam War draft.

Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St. Leo's Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, during his high-school years.