From his debut with 1979’s “Mad Max,” Mel GIbson has made a career out of playing slightly psychotic characters. In fact, the underlying hint of danger he brought to a diverse range of roles from Martin Riggs to William Wallace is what made him such a compelling actor.
Audiences flocked to Mel’s movies knowing full well that at any moment the jovial jokester would vanish, replaced by a violent and vengeful man. True, it was usually prompted by good cause -- the death of a wife, the slaughter of a family, and always lots and lots of torture (see South Park’s “The Passion of the Jew” for a sly takedown of that strange fixation).
But when what seems to be Mel airing his inner “Mad Max” on a series of racist and misogynistic taped phone calls to ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, people were understandably horrified. The evidence, however, was there all along. As proof, TheWrap offers some of Mel’s most unhinged roles paired with some choice bits of tape.
