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TwitThisRenewing His Faith
Life keeps flinging surprises at Mel Gibson. Twelve years ago he woke up and realized he had achieved everything he ever hoped for -- except a sense of purpose. He looked at the Oscars, the money, all that fame and fortune bestow, and decided there had to be more. The path he found was a bit of a shocker as well: It led the one-time Sexiest Man Alive back to the faith of his boyhood, to a spiritual revitalization that, he says, changed him profoundly.He may have been transformed, but he is still Mel Gibson, so it was probably only a matter of time until he directed a movie about the man at the center of his transformation, Jesus. The Passion of the Christ, which opened late last month, has turned into another of those cosmic surprises for Gibson. Seldom has a film generated so much publicity and controversy before its premiere. Some critics found it overly violent. Others insisted that the film gives a harsh, even anti-Semitic depiction of the role that the Jews played in Christ's death. The criticism stung Gibson, who at first tried to defend himself, and then mostly went silent. Now, in an exclusive interview, he talks with author Peggy Noonan more frankly and broadly than ever before about his faith, his family, his future and The Passion.
RD: Why did you want to make this movie, and how long has the idea been with you?
Gibson: It's been incubating for 12 years. I think the germ of it came at a time in my life when I was really searching. I was asking all those Shakespearean Hamlet questions: What's on the other side? Why am I here? Part of my investigation was the reawakening of the faith that I was raised in. So I began to explore in books, sermons and theologies. I began talking to experts. It's interesting that many of the criticisms that have been leveled at me -- they think that I just came out of a vacuum with this. I have talked to literally thousands of learned and biblical scholars over the last 12 years. I just didn't make it up, you know.
RD: What was going on with you 12 years ago that made you ask all your Hamlet questions and then renew your faith?
Gibson: We usually come to these things in times of trial and pain. I might look like I'm living the high life, making movies and jetting around the world. But true happiness resides within. I was spiritually bankrupt, and when that happens, it's like a spiritual cancer afflicts you. It starts to eat its way through, and if you don't do something, it's going to take you. So I simply had to draw a line in the sand. But it wasn't so much about me making a decision as being backed into a wall.
RD: Did it take a while to get where you ought to be?
Gibson: Oh, yeah, sure. This kind of stuff doesn't happen overnight. This is a very gradual metamorphosis. And it is nowhere near complete yet. I'm still so full of flaws.
RD: Can you explain to the readers what the reference The Passion means, in terms of the life of Christ and the crucifixion journey?
Gibson: Passion. It's about obsessive love. It was the whole point of Christ's incarnation -- God becoming man. The purpose of the sacrifice was to expiate the transgressions of all mankind. I believe that, and billions of others do too. These are the testimonies from the Gospels, and they speak of love. They speak of ransom, and a complete forgetting of self, for the sake of all others, which is really the height of heroism. He became the whipping boy so that we have a chance -- because, you know, we can't make it on our own.
RD: As far as the Christian story goes, The Passion begins after the Last Supper, with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It ends with the last words of Christ on the cross.
Gibson: Yes. And in the film there's an epilogue -- kind of a rising.
RD: What does your faith mean to you today? What role does it play in your life?
Gibson: Well, you're not going to get along too far without it. I think the next decade is going to be really interesting, and I think we're in for a pretty wild ride, all of us, right around the globe. I believe that faith, for me, if you're going on a wild ride, it's kind of like slapping a seat belt on. Not that it's going to save you here [laughs], but that you'll be able to transcend the madness by appealing to a higher power.
RD: If it's true and you believe in the truth, you're safe?
Gibson: Yeah. And I have put it to the test, I'm telling you. Because in my life, I've been a monster. It has not ever, ever let me down. Ever. I should be dead. Suffice it to say, hey, I was a wild boy.
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