Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) (born January 3, 1956) is an American Australian actor, film director and producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill (Peekskill, New York), New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

After appearing in the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning Braveheart. Gibsons direction of Braveheart made him the sixth actor-turned-filmmaker to receive an Academy Award for Best Director (Academy Award for Directing). In 2004, he directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, a controversial but successful film that portrayed the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ. The movies he has acted in have grossed more than two billion dollars in the U.S. alone.