Mel Gibson made his screen debut in the Australian period drama television series ‘The Sullivans’ in 1976. He played the role of ‘Ray Henderson’ and remained a part of the show until it went off-air in 1983. He made his big-screen debut in the 1977 Australian drama thriller film ‘Summer City’ directed by Christopher Fraser. In 1979, he portrayed ‘Max Rockatansky’ in the Australian dystopian action film ‘Mad Max’ directed by George Miller. While the film received a more polarizing response from critics, it turned out to be a massive commercial success and grossed over US$100 million at the box office. He next starred in films such as ‘The Chain Reaction’ (1980), ‘Attack Force Z’ (1981), ‘Mad Max 2’ (1981), ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ (1982), ‘The Bounty’ (1984), ‘Mrs. Soffel’ (1984), and ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ (1985). In 1987, he starred as ‘Martin Riggs’ in the Richard Donner-directed American buddy cop action film ‘Lethal Weapon.’ The film received praise from critics and was a major financial success, grossing over $120.2 million on a budget of $15 million. He was next seen in films like ‘Tequila Sunrise’ (1988), ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ (1989), ‘Bird on a Wire’ (1990), ‘Hamlet’ (1990), ‘Forever Young’ (1992), and ‘Lethal Weapon 3’ (1992).Â
Gibson made his directorial debut in the 1993 American drama film ‘The Man Without a Face.’ The film received positive reviews from critics and holds a 65% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 1994, he played the role of ‘Bret Maverick’ in the Richard Donner-directed American Western comedy film, ‘Maverick.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $183 million on a budget of $75 million. In 1995, he wrote, produced, and directed the American epic historical war drama film ‘Braveheart.’ The film was a critical and commercial success and won 4 ‘Academy Awards,’ including ‘Best Picture and ‘Best Director’ for Gibson. It was also a major commercial success and grossed over $213.2 million on a budget of $65–70 million. He went on to star in films like ‘Ransom’ (1996), ‘Fathers' Day’ (1997), ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (1997), ‘Lethal Weapon 4’ (1998), ‘Payback’ (1999), ‘Chicken Run’ (2000), ‘The Patriot’ (2000), ‘What Women Want’ (2000), ‘We Were Soldiers’ (2002), ‘Signs’ (2002), ‘The Singing Detective’ (2003), ‘Paparazzi’ (2004), ‘Edge of Darkness’ (2010), ‘The Beaver’ (2011), ‘Get the Gringo’ (2012), and ‘Machete Kills’ (2013). In 2014, he starred as ‘Conrad Stonebanks’ in the American action film ‘The Expendables 3’ directed by Patrick Hughes. The film opened to a negative reception but managed to gross over $214.7 million on a budget of $90–100 million.Â
He next appeared in films like ‘Blood Father’ (2016), ‘Daddy's Home 2’ (2017), ‘Dragged Across Concrete’ (2018), ‘The Professor and the Madman’ (2019), ‘Force of Nature’ (2020), ‘Fatman’ (2020), ‘Boss Level’ (2021), ‘Dangerous’ (2021), ‘Last Looks’ (2022), and ‘Father Stu’ (2022). Gibson last appeared in the 2022 American action-thriller film ‘Hot Seat’ directed by James Cullen Bressack.