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Born as Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson in Peekskill, New York to Anne and Hutton Gibson.
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Mel's dad moves the family to Australia, in protest against the Vietnam War.
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His sister, getting a kick out of Mel's jokes and acting abilities, fills out an application for the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney and mails it on his behalf. When they answer, Mel goes along with the whole thing and shows up for the audition. He passes without a hitch, to his surprise.
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Plays Frank Dunn in Gallipoli
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While in Moorea, during the filming of The Bounty, Mel and his pals have a habit of going on serious drinking sprees. On one occasion he got in such a serious bar brawl that the order of shooting has to be shuffled to agree with Mel's bruises.
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Plays Fletcher Christian in The Bounty with Anthony Hopkins.
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Makes his Hollywood debut in The River with Sissy Spacek.
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Stars in Mrs. Soffel with Diane Keaton.
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Stars in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with Tina Turner.
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Plays Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon.
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Begins doing research for a movie later down the road that will eventually become The Passion of the Christ.
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Plays William Wallace in Braveheart, which he also directed and produced
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Mel does the voice of the main rooster, Rocky, in the animated film Chicken Run.
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The Passion of the Christ debuts. Mel is credited as the director, co-producer, and the man who fronted his own money, $25 million. The movie has made him over $414 million due to negative and positive publicity.
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For $15 million, Mel buys his own paradise, Mago, a 5,400-acre island in Fiji.
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Landless Fijians are trying to raise money to challenge the sale of their ancestral home, Mago Island, to Mel.. They claim it was stolen from them back in the 19th century. Tribal member Timoci Waqalevu says, "Our island was sold for 2,000 coconut plants, and stories told by our forefathers are that they were forced to leave at gunpoint."
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Zack Sinclair, Mel's own personal stalker, gets a maximum three-year jail sentence for trying to pray with Mel and for sending disturbing letters, with contents like, God told him to pray with Mel.
