Mel Gibson on 'Edge of Darkness'

Remember when Mel Gibson was known for his acting? It might be too late now that he’s been such a controversial filmmaker and public figure, but he’s back to remind us that he still acts. Edge of Darkness is like an old school Mel Gibson movie where he’s a tough guy trying to get the guys who killed his daughter. We witnessed his comeback firsthand when he gave a press conference for the film. 

Q: Have you gotten the acting bug back? 

Mel Gibson: Okay, well, yeah, I walked away from it after Signs because I just felt I was a bit stale and it wasn’t ringing my bells so I focused on directing and writing and producing and all that kind of stuff, and it was time to come back. Now, I got the acting bug back because I felt like all of a sudden, maybe after all these years I might have something to offer again and it coincided with a very good piece of material. It was a compelling story with good elements attached and I dug it, and it gave me the chance to work with Martin [Campbell] and Ray [Winstone] and Graham [King] and Bill Monahan. If it wasn’t this, it would’ve been something else but this was the best thing that I saw. 

Q: Once you got back, did you feel rusty or did it come back to you quickly?

Mel Gibson: A little bit. I remember Martin had to tell me to tone it down a couple of times because you forget levels and stuff. It’s like sort of like dialing in levels and stuff. So after that it was pretty natural. You don’t do something for 30 years and forget it. So yeah. It felt all right. It felt better actually. 

Q: Did the juices come back? 

Mel Gibson: Yeah, pretty much, yeah. And that was something an old, wise old… well, not so wise, not so old guy told me once. Go away, dig a hole, do something else, come back and it magically rejuvenates your creative impulses and stuff. He’s right I think and I cannot qualify how exactly, but I know that something happened. Just nothing better than a vacation sometimes. 

Q: Do you keep in shape naturally or did you have to get back in shape for the fight scene? 

Mel Gibson: I don’t work out much. I try and eat right and exercise a little. That sounds horrible. I quit smoking so that’s something in the right direction. There’s no more fun things left. I just don’t do anything fun anymore. But that’s dying, isn’t it? You die in stages, right? You let things go in pieces. It’s more than halfway through, right? For all of us here, probably for most of you out there too. Not you. You’re not quite there yet. Well, the only thing I did with that was just I ordered a chiropractor for the day after because I knew what it was going to feel like. I knew I was going to wake up like road kill and I did. You don’t bounce back as quick as you used to, and that guy’s 25, right? And he’s taking it easy on you, okay. It’s not a pleasant experience, you know. Things, you don’t pop back the way you used to but it’s okay. So long as it still looks good.

Q: Why are you drawn to stories about characters who lose their family and fight for justice?

Mel Gibson: Ah, well, there’s a lot of anger around. That’s not a good answer either. I think that’s a very old theme in a lot of stories. Martin and I talked about this. It reminded us of a Jacobian tragedy from the 17^th century in almost every way. By one of those guys like Turner. He wrote The Revenger’s Tragedy. They were all written by English guys about the Italians. It was really weird in the 17^th century. “Man, those Italians are really vengeful.” So that’s what it reminded me of, where everybody gets it, even the dog. Even the dog gets it. So I don't know, it’s an old theme and it’s part of most hero myths. Something sets the spheres a-wrong and somebody has to right it. It’s a big theme. 

Q: You’ve been on the edge, defending projects, being the center of politics… has all that made you a better actor? 

Mel Gibson: Well, all experiences, what does not kill you makes you stronger and tougher I think. Life’s experiences, whether they be pleasant, unpleasant, torturous or excruciatingly wonderful and blissful, season you somehow and you learn from them. And hopefully we learn. Isn’t that what it’s about? That’s like all I’m trying to do now is put some information on a chip that I can leave to my progeny and maybe they can do a better job than I can in this crazy, spinning piece of dirt in the future. 

Q: How did you happen to learn to direct, and how do you dial back and take direction? 

Mel Gibson: Well, how do you learn to direct? I mean, you hang around the hub and watch what’s going on and ask a bunch of questions. You’re there for the inception of an idea, you’re there to see it executed. You’re there to doubt it, you’re there to see if they pull it off or not. You’re there to sort of share the fruits of the victory or failure so it’s like wow, it’s like a big science experiment for 30 years so how can you not pick it up and if you’re working with really good people, it’s just great. Let go of it? I don't think you can ever totally let go of it. You can pull back on it and not get too forceful. I hope I wasn’t too hard on Martin here. I don't think I was but occasionally I’d say, “Dude…” and I’d get an idea or something and you know what? A good director, if it’s a good idea, and I’ve noticed this, people come to my table when I’m directing and they have good ideas and I say, “That’s a god damn good idea. Can I steal that?” They go yes, please and you go okay, I’ll take it. He actually did swipe one of my ideas and that’s the earmark of a good director. When he sees a good idea, he takes it.