Andrew Garfield Says Mel Gibson “Deserves to Make Films"

Andrew Garfield is saying that his “Hacksaw Ridge” director, Mel Gibson, “deserves” to have a comeback and make films in Hollywood.

During a People’s “Movies of My Life” segment, Garfield described Gibson as a “real empathetic guy” who “deserves” a “second chance.” Garfield, who is Jewish, is very forgiving about Gibson previous anti-Semitic comments and acknowledges that he had “deep, important conversations” with his director while making “Hacksaw Ridge.”

“He’s done a lot of beautiful healing with himself,” Garfield said of Gibson. “And thank God, because he’s an amazing filmmaker, and I think he deserves to make films. He deserves to tell stories, because he has a very, very big, compassionate heart.”

Garfield continued, “He’s the kind of director that would come from behind the monitors, just with his eyes wet. He knew when it was right and he knew when it wasn’t right. And I just really trusted him. And he’s a visceral storyteller so he can feel…He’s like he can’t help but feel everything. He’s a real empathetic guy.”

“I learned that people can heal. I learned that people can change, that people can get help,” Garfield said. “I learned that everyone deserves respect. And that people deserve second chances, third chances, fourth chances, that none of us are infallible.”

Gibson remains a very controversial figure. His downfall started when he lost his sobriety and suffered through the dark pits of alcoholism (roughly between 2005 and 2011). During that time, he sexually harassed a police officer, yelled racist slurs, blamed Jews for various wars, and was caught on tape verbally abusing and harassing his girlfriend.

Five years later, Gibson somehow managed to mount a comeback in Hollywood by directing 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” which went on to garner six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Then social justice movements started to spring up all over America in 2017, society changed, and Gibson went back to being a pariah. He, effectively, was “re-canceled.”

Gibson now mostly stars in C-list fare. If you can believe it, he hasn’t acted in a hit movie since 2002’s “Signs,” and hasn’t had a movie make decent dough at the box-office since 2010’s “Edge of Darkness” (it earned $80M). The good news is that he’s independently financing and will shoot “The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection” possibly next year and managed to convince Lionsgate to let him direct “Flight Risk,” starring Mark Wahlberg, which is set for release in January 2025.

Gibson is a talented filmmaker, and at his acting peak, had some of the best on-screen charisma of any actor in Hollywood. At some point in his career, he was one of the biggest box-office draws.

Gibson as a filmmaker has never been known to shy away from gruesome violence in his films: “The Passion of the Christ” “Braveheart” and, his best work, “Apocalypto,” are three of the most violent movies I’ve ever seen. I’d love to see him direct more films.