Mel Gibson has been in the public eye with his wife, whom he divorced, and since 2014, he has had a new partner. Along with his career as an action-packed celebrity, he has raised nine exceptional children while traveling the world to act, direct, and produce movies. Some of his children have opted for a more private life, while others pursued careers in the film industry.
His son, Milo Gibson, is now on the path to becoming a Hollywood star and resembles his father. Mel Gibson was born in New York in January 1956. When he was 12 years old, his father won a “little fortune” on Jeopardy!, prompting the family to move to Australia. After completing high school and settling in New South Wales, Mel’s sister secretly enrolled him at the Sydney National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he quickly established himself as a professional actor.
It was full steam ahead for Mel Gibson from there.
In 1977, Mel received his first acting break in the movie Summer City. However, his role in George Miller’s low-budget sci-fi thriller Mad Max (1979) changed everything for him. The film’s popularity propelled him to fame in Europe and Australia. Following his Best Actor win at the Australian Film Institute, Mel Gibson starred in several more movies and made a significant leap into Hollywood by 1981.
His performance in the 1981 sequel to Mad Max, The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2, was well-received by the American public. However, he was initially categorized as an action star alongside actors like Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mel’s remarkable portrayal of Hamlet in 1990 demonstrated his versatility as an actor beyond action films. Three years later, he made his directorial debut with The Man Without a Face.
However, it was his role in Braveheart that propelled him to Hollywood superstardom and a whole new level of fame in 1996. When Mel received the script for Braveheart, he was instantly drawn to the project, not only as an actor but also as a potential director.
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Mel got candid about Braveheart.
“It is just a funny corner of history that I’d never heard of before. And the script was a very haunting piece of work,” he said. “I put it down and thought, ‘it’ a pretty good script’. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it, it obviously got inside my head. It was given to me on an acting basis, but I just felt I had to tell this story, so I repeated scenes and sequences inside of my head. So that’s a pretty good indication that you probably should direct it.”
His mom is Irish, but he knew nothing of the dialect then. “It was difficult, but I was up there and immersed among people who all needed subtitles,” he said on the Graham Norton Show. “I’d ask people ‘What did you say?’ and they’d have to repeat it, so eventually it kind of worked its way into my lexicon.”
Seeking help in the right places
Mel sought a dialect coach to assist him in perfecting his accent for the role. Sean Connery was the ideal candidate, not only because he was a genuine Scotsman but also due to his previous roles as James Bond and the King of England, both portrayed with his distinct and charismatic Edinburgh dialect.
“We were at Andy Vajna’s place and he’s Hungarian, so he made Goulash. Now, imagine Sean Connery saying that word,” Gibson explained. “To hear Sean actually utter a word like ‘goulash’ is a lesson in itself. You just pick up the accent from the people you’re talking to and hearing and he helped me perfect my Scottish accent.”
It wasn’t long before Mel Gibson’s Braveheart was a household name
Mel Gibson’s venture into filmmaking with Braveheart was a resounding triumph, receiving critical acclaim and audience adoration alike. The movie earned a total of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director. While it has been criticized for its historical accuracy, Braveheart has been lauded as a magnificent film, drawing comparisons to cinematic masterpieces such as Spartacus and Lawrence of Arabia.
Mel went on to act in and produce numerous movies. In 2017, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Directing for his film Hacksaw Ridge, a World War II epic about the Battle of Okinawa. The movie was not only a critical success, but it also allowed Mel Gibson to collaborate with his son, Milo Gibson, who had a supporting role.
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Milo Gibson, Mel’s son opened up about life with the actor
Milo is one of Mel Gibson’s nine children, and as you may already know, he has pursued a career in the film industry. However, this wasn’t always his plan, as Milo initially aspired to something entirely different from his father. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that he bears a striking resemblance to his famous dad!
Despite being Mel Gibson’s son, one of his children revealed that they did not live in a luxurious Hollywood mansion. Milo Gibson was born on November 16, 1990, in Australia, and his family moved to Malibu, California, when he was just three years old.
Growing up, Milo developed a passion for surfing, but despite being the son of a prominent Hollywood figure, his life was not all glitz and glamor. While he may have enjoyed certain privileges, Milo has stated that his parents made a conscious effort to ensure that their children had a normal childhood, like any other kid.
A normal life
“It wasn’t a showbiz childhood,” he says. “Our parents kept us out of that type of world,” Milo Gibson told The Australian. “Because it changes people, I think. We didn’t grow up in the Hollywood lifestyle clique,” he explained. “I basically did everything other than going into the career of acting; I wanted to do more of a blue-collar job that involved real people.”
Even with a normal childhood, they met many celebrities, including Robert Downey Jr. He apparently turned out to be rather good at video games too! “He let me hit him in the face a couple of times,” Milo recalled. During his childhood, Milo Gibson did not fully comprehend the extent of his father’s global fame. It wasn’t until a few years later that he realized the magnitude of his father’s celebrity status.
He was, however pretty cautious about it all. “Yeah, all the time,” he said. “I think you learn how to …Read signals? Yeah. I don’t really like to tell people, but a lot of my friends already know and they don’t care. They’re friends with me because they’re friends with me.”
Milo on Braveheart
At the age of six, Milo Gibson watched his father star in Braveheart and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, he was already aware that his father had a role in the film as he had visited the set while filming one of the initial scenes. “I walked into that on set, by myself. Dummies swinging from the roof,” Milo Gibson recalled. “I remember Dad grabbing me and taking me out, saying, ‘It’s not real.’ I specifically remember seeing the eyes all staring down.”
Milo Gibson felt the weight of his family name, “Gibson,” and like many other celebrity children, people expected him to follow his father’s path. However, Milo chose to lead a private life away from the limelight. During his teenage years, he played football and enjoyed surfing as his hobby. After graduation, he decided to pursue a career as a private massage therapist, where he worked for a few years before transitioning into becoming an electrician.
Working with real people was more important to Milo than anything else
Milo enjoyed working with “real people,” and his parents didn’t pressure him into joining the film industry. Thus, he had the freedom to carve out his own path in life. Despite his father’s busy life, traveling the world to shoot films and attending celebrity events, Mel Gibson raised his children normally, which Milo appreciated.
Although Milo eventually followed in his father’s footsteps in the film industry, his parents never coerced him into acting. Nonetheless, they supported him in his decision. “My dad was always a big advocate of doing what you like to do, and keep doing new things and trying new things, but do what you love,” Milo Gibson explained. “And I did that. I had a lot of different jobs but they weren’t things that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. And I have a really big passion for acting and I really love doing it.”
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Working alongside Mel Gibson
In 2016, Milo Gibson began his acting career with a perfect start – working alongside his father in the Second War II film Hacksaw Ridge, which also starred actors like Andrew Garfield. His father was directing the film, making it an even more special experience for Milo. “It was nice to see him behind the camera,” he said. “I learned that you have to be comfortable taking risks and then stick with them; one of the keys in acting is to be vulnerable.”
Milo Gibson, who is now 32 years old, landed his first leading role in the 2018 film All the Devil’s Men. He has also starred in The Tribes of Palos Verdes (2017) alongside Jennifer Gardner and Breaking & Exiting (2018). With his acting career just starting out, Milo will receive plenty of support from his parents as he pursues his passion for film.
Literally the spitting image of Mel, it’s no wonder he’s attracted so much attention
Milo Gibson’s diverse roles in the film show promise for his future career. In addition to acting, he has also explored modeling. With his striking features, including his thick hair and intense eyes, he strongly resembles his father, Mel. Sometimes, he is even recognized by people who mistake him for his famous father. “Sometimes people go, ‘Hey, you look like Mel Gibson!’ And I go, ‘F**k, I wish!’” he says.
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Sources
- The Australian.
- “All About Mel Gibson’s Lookalike Son Milo — He’s Now an Actor!.” People. Mike Miller. November 29, 2017.
