Career in Australian cinema

Before Gibson became a Hollywood star, his starring roles in the Mad Max series and the films of Peter Weir during the New Wave of Australian cinema propelled him to international film stardom. While a student at NIDA, Gibson made his film debut in the 1977 film Summer City, for which he was paid $250. After being cast in Mad Max by Australian doctor-turned-director George Miller, Gibson began his first lead role in 1977 at the age of 21 on the day after he graduated from drama school. Gibson also played a mentally-slow youth in Tim, which earned him the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The release of Mad Max in 1979 then made Gibson internationally famous overnight. Gibson joined the cast of the World War II action film Attack Force Z, which was not released until 1982 when Gibson had become a bigger star. Director Peter Weir cast Gibson as one of the leads in the critically-acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli, which earned Gibson another Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute. The film Gallipoli also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious, versatile actor and gained him the Hollywood agent Ed Limato. The sequel Mad Max 2 was his first hit in America (released as The Road Warrior). In 1982 Gibson again attracted critical acclaim in Peter Weir’s romantic thriller The Year of Living Dangerously. Following a year hiatus from film acting after the birth of his twin sons, Gibson took on the role of Fletcher Christian in The Bounty in 1984. Playing Max Rockatansky for the third time in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985 earned Gibson his first million dollar salary.

Stage career

Growing up, Mel Gibson considered becoming a journalist, a chef, or a religious brother. Then Gibson’s older sister Mary secretly submitted $5 along with an application for the recent high school graduate to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. After the audition, Gibson was accepted into an acting class that included Judy Davis and Steve Bisley. The students at NIDA were classically trained in the British theatre tradition rather than for screen acting. As students, Gibson and Judy Davis played the leads in Romeo and Juliet, and Gibson played the role of Queen Titania in an experimental production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.. After graduation in 1977, Gibson immediately began work on the filming of Mad Max, but he continued to work as a stage actor, joining the State Theatre Company of South Australia in Adelaide. Gibson’s theatrical credits include Waiting for Godot, playing Estragon opposite Geoffrey Rush, and a 1982 Sydney production of Death of a Salesman, playing Biff Loman. Gibson’s most recent theatrical performance was a 1993 Telluride production of Love Letters by A. R. Gurney, opposite Sissy Spacek. At the beginning of his acting career, Gibson also appeared in television pilots for series including The Sullivans, Cop Shop and Punishment.