Early Life
Mel Gibson, the stunningly handsome American-Australian Actor, was born in New York City in 1956. At the age of 12, he moved to Australia with his parents. Little did he know this would be one of the major turning points in his life which would bring him fame, success, and equal disgrace later!
Like any other rebellious teenager, Mel wanted to do something that seems “cool” at that age, but is, in reality, illegal and harmful. Mel started drinking at the age of 13. Later in life, he got so addicted to alcohol that it led to the downfall of his career. In 2002, he found out that he is a manic-depressive patient. Whether or not this has anything to do with his alcoholic habits is something that is still unknown.
Gibson was also a smoker along with being an alcoholic. Although he successfully managed to overcome his smoking problem, he never managed to overcome his drinking problems.
In spite of all these issues, he continued to show impeccable professionalism and punctuality in his career. In fact, Lethal Weapon 2 Director, Richard Donner was amazed and shocked that Gibson was a victim of substance abuse who drank up to five pints of beer for breakfast.
Not only that, but his alcoholism made him suicidal during his mid-30s. He depended on Christ’s Passion to stabilize and distract himself.
Traffic Stop and Arrest
In July 2006, Gibson was found speeding his car on a highway with a speed of 45 mph. He had been driving at almost 87 mph. Upon testing, it was found that the alcohol content in his blood was 50% more than the permissible limit. Gibson exploded in anger at the officer arresting him. His tirade ended with Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in this world.
TMZ.com spread the arrest reports online, and subsequently the world saw Gibson issuing not one, but TWO letters of apology through his publicist. It was after this arrest that Gibson took part in a recovery program to combat his alcoholism, according to his publicist. Being one of the most powerful and influential people in Hollywood did not prevent his career from taking a crash. His alcoholism ruined his relationship with many of his co-stars as well as with contemporary celebrities like Barbara Walters.
Aftermath
Like any other person, Gibson is facing several issues in his life right now, but being among the very few ones, he has taken the wise decision to deal with them in a clean and sober state. The good news is that Gibson has checked into a rehab facility to enable him to overcome his issues with alcoholism.
Along with his health and his public status, Gibson is earnest to make amends to the Jewish community after his anti-Jewish tirade.