Surprise! Mel Gibson is Australian… Only he’s not.

*photo courtesy of Flixtster*

Because of all the Mel Gibson-ery that we have been taking part in, it has recently become clear to me that there are many people who are unaware of Gibson’s Australian roots (yeah, so I have conversations about Mel Gibson and how hairy he is, so what?). Thinking I would lay the matter to rest once and for all, I decided to write about this very Australian fact… Only to learn that Gibson is actually American (with an Irish dual citizenship).

Now, I don’t know if this is just me, but I was under the distinct impression that he was Australian, whereas many people I know thought he was simply American. Turns out, he was born and raised in America until he was twelve, when his father moved the family to Australia (Gibson’s paternal grandmother was an Australian opera singer). He was trained as an actor in Australia and did, indeed, start out as a theater and film actor in Australian productions, but has since worked in Hollywood. So, turns out that Gibson is actually just a chameleon. That must say something for his acting abilities, although he hasn’t acted in awhile until recently.

Speaking of which... Did you guys know Gibson was filming a movie (the first starring role he’s had since 2002) in Boston at the end of the summer? I found out after the fact, but I’m not so in the loop, I guess. These days, he apparently prefers producing and directing and all that jazz... He had this little thing called, “The Passion of the Christ” a few years back, don’t know if any of you heard of it… To me, though, Mel Gibson will always be my first coherent understanding of who he was as an actor: John Smith in Disney’s Pocahontas... Now there's a true not-American American.