Born Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson in Peekskill, NY; educated at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, Australia. Strikingly handsome, blue-eyed lead of Hollywood features from the 1980s. Though introduced to US audiences as an Australian actor, Gibson was actually born in New York state and emigrated to Australia in 1968. He made a name for himself in the title role of George Miller's MAD MAX, as the post-apocalyptic action hero, and in TIM (both 1979), playing a retarded handyman in love with Piper Laurie. Gibson became a bankable star in his adopted Australia. He then starred in Peter Weir's war drama, GALLIPOLI (1981), and THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981), Miller's transcendent follow-up to MAD MAX. The latter, hailed as an action classic, was an international hit in 1982 and made Gibson a rising star. Gibson reteamed with Weir for THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (1983). As an Australian reporter who is forced to confront the political upheavals in 1960s Indonesia, Gibson exuded charm and intelligence. A pivotal role in his career, the film presented Gibson to the world as a romantic lead. He made his American feature debut less auspiciously, however, as a reluctantly mutinous Fletcher Christian opposite Anthony Hopkins's Captain Bligh in THE BOUNTY (1984) and appeared in two more films that year. He then returned to Australia to wrap up the MAD MAX series with MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985), a cumbersome satire with less action, a bigger budget, Tina Turner and Max -- mostly on foot -- looking like a wandering prophet. After taking two years off, Gibson returned in LETHAL WEAPON (1987), playing his most popular character -- Martin Riggs, an explosive homicide cop paired with the long-suffering Danny Glover. The film propelled Gibson to superstardom and spawned three sequels in which he displayed an unusually rich characterization for a modern action hero. He then made a surprising career move with his portrayal of the melancholy Dane in Franco Zeffirelli's HAMLET (1990). While the film was problematic, Gibson turned in a finely rendered portrait of the famed prince. This was the first film produced by his ICON Productions. After continuing in a more sentimental vein with the sudsy FOREVER YOUNG (1992), he made his directorial debut with THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE (1993), a drama in which he played a burn victim. After this mildly popular effort, Gibson returned to rowdy commercial fare with MAVERICK (1994), an adaptation of the 60s TV Western-comedy series, which shrewdly parlayed his dashing rogue qualities into solid box-office success. Gibson returned to the director's chair for BRAVEHEART (1995), a project far bigger than any with which he had been previously involved. Clad in a kilt, sporting blue war paint and wielding a big sword, Gibson starred as Sir William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish nobleman persecuted for his efforts to free Scotland from English rule. Wags dubbed the film "Mad Mac." But it captured the Best Picture Oscar® for 1995 and garnered Gibson an Academy Award® as Best Director. Gibson had become a busy voice-over actor in the many animated features that have been released since the mid-90s. His talents can be heard for leading characters on POCAHONTAS (1995) and CHICKEN RUN (2000). Recent on-camera credits include RANSOM (1996), CONSPIRACY THEORY (1997), LETHAL WEAPON 4 (1998), PAYBACK (1999), THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL, THE PATRIOT and WHAT WOMEN WANT (all 2000), WE WERE SOLDIERS and SIGNS (both 2002), THE SINGING DETECTIVE (2003) and UNDER AND ALONE and SAM AND GEORGE (both scheduled for release in 2008). Gibson wrote, produced and directed THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (2004) and APOCALYPTO (2006). Aside from making Gibson vehicles, his ICON Productions has also produced other projects including the Beethoven biopic IMMORTAL BELOVED (1994), FAIRYTALE: A TRUE STORY and SPICE WORLD (both 1997), FELICIA'S JOURNEY and AN IDEAL HUSBAND (both 1999), WHEN THE SKY FALLS (2000), THE BLIND ASSASSIN (2002) and THE NIGHT WE CALLED IT A DAY and RED DWARF: THE MOVIE (both 2003) .  Best Picture of the Year 1995: BRAVEHEART - Producer at ICON (w. Alan Ladd, Jr. & Bruce Davey)  Best Achievement in Direction 1995: BRAVEHEART 2 nominations, 2 Awards