Mel Gibson On Recovering His Reputation In Hollywood

Mel Gibson has expressed his “surprise” at how he has been welcomed back into Hollywood circles, more than a decade after a series of personal troubles and incidents that could have ended his film career.

The actor and Oscar-nominated director infamously fell from favour in the noughties after a string of incidents that saw him accused of racism and anti-Semitism, as well as a domestic abuse allegation against his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in 2011 that led to a conviction for battery, which was wiped after he completed a three-year probation.

However, the 61 year old star has rebuilt his career in recent years, scoring multiple Oscar nominations for his war movie Hacksaw Ridge this time last year. Now, he’s back on the big screen himself with a role in comedy sequel Daddy’s Home 2.

“I am surprised as I have been digging a ditch for the past ten years,” he told British chat show host Graham Norton in a segment to be broadcast this Friday (November 24th). “Quite frankly, it’s been a lot of hard work personally and professionally, but the work goes on as I think it does for most of us.”

More: Mel Gibson wants to “enlighten” resurrection story with ‘Passion of the Christ’ sequel [archive]

Gibson revealed that, in spite of all the negative publicity that dogged him throughout those years, he never considered giving up acting or working in the film industry.

“You’ve chosen a career and there is a calling, particularly in directing and you just have to get back up there and express yourself through storytelling,” he explained. “That never went away. During those years I was just writing and conceiving stories.”

The whole interview is broadcast on Friday on BBC One at 10:35pm, and Gibson appeared with his Daddy’s Home 2 co-stars John Lithgow, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell.

More: Mel Gibson expecting ninth child with girlfriend Rosalind Ross [archive]