4. Mel Gibson
Mel Gibsons career has had its ups and downs, as has his personal life, with several controversies attached to him but nonetheless he still found the time to create some memorable movie characters. First, and one of his very first roles, was Mad Max. The film is set in the near future, where oil has become a scarce commodity and people will kill to get it. Max is a police officer of sorts who, after becoming disillusioned with the system, resigns. One of the local gangs murders his wife and kid and the rest of the film is about Max getting his revenge. Gibson played the character in two sequels. In a vaguely similar kind of role, Gibson kick-started the buddy cop genre with his co-star Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon franchise. Here, Gibson plays unhinged, suicidal cop Martin Riggs who gets partnered with Glovers Roger Murtaugh who is starting to feel a bit old. The two couldnt be more opposite to start with but by the end of the movie, theyre not only the best of friends but have come to respect each other. Gibson would play this role another three times. Finally, Gibson played the historical character William Wallace in what was also his second directing job, Braveheart. The film is set during the 13th century and deals with the First War of Scottish Independence against the English. Wallace, a commoner, becomes a leader of the people and leads them to several victories against the English army. The film was an enormous success and won Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards.