Without a doubt, Mel Gibson is one of the best actors in Hollywood. He has shown his bravery by producing the Passion of the Christ, which is now our next topic. Let's talk about his life story, how wealthy he is now, and the latest updates on him.
Mel Gibson was born in New York, but he has Irish blood, and he was the sixth out of eleven siblings. His father was a writer, while his grandmother was an opera singer, so the creative genes were in his bloodline.
He enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney and was discovered after playing the role of a surfer in Summer City in 1977. After that, he played the role of a renegade cop seeking revenge in the futuristic action film Mad Max. In his early 20s, he received the award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute. And it was the film Mad Max 2 that really propelled him to international stardom. This continued in the 80s when he starred in the Lethal Weapon series. Then, he moved on to become a director and released one of my favorite epic films, Braveheart.
Mel Gibson has done many films, and he can easily portray characters in both serious and rom-com movies. However, it was his directorial debut for The Passion of the Christ, a Bible-based film that tells the story of Jesus Christ's last 12 hours, that truly made people respect his work. This film was very challenging, as it strived to include Aramaic and Latin, and it takes great courage to do what he has done. Many people were against the release of this film, but with God's grace, it was allowed to be released and is now one of the highest-grossing films in history.
After the release of Passion of the Christ, many tried to tarnish Mel Gibson's reputation, and it is no surprise that he was suddenly canceled in Hollywood. They disliked the fact that Mel Gibson was very devoted to Jesus Christ, and there were many negative news articles about him. Of course, he is not perfect, and there have been many negative news articles about him, but among all the Hollywood stars and directors, he was the first to really bring Jesus Christ to the mainstream. People thought that Passion of the Christ wouldn't be successful, but the film grossed a whopping 660 million USD, close to a billion dollars. This film was widely accepted, and many evangelical leaders supported it, including Billy Graham. On its opening day alone, it made 83 million USD. It was even endorsed by the CBCP. The film was initially banned in Malaysia, but Christian leaders protested, and the ban was lifted. It was also released in Egypt.
The Passion of the Christ is not like any other Christian film released, it was serious and deeply made, and the commitment was impressive. Of course, there is no perfect film when it comes to portraying the life and works of Jesus Christ, but this film was a great wake-up call and allowed Christians to remember the pure love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. It takes great courage to release something like this.
Mel Gibson is still worth 450 million USD, as he is a good investor and has received millions of donations for environmental conservation, specifically for rainforests. He is helping indigenous communities and is a supporter of Angels at Risk, a non-profit organization that focuses on educating people about drug and alcohol use. He has said that he is aware that he can be self-absorbed because of his success, so doing philanthropic and humanitarian work helps put things in perspective.
Mel Gibson is known for saying that even people who don't know Jesus can be saved through the merits of Jesus Christ, through his sacrifice.