Where would a list like this be without old Mel? After all, he has pretty much come to define the former Hollywood superstar who goes mad, burns every bridge in sight, and goes off the deep end in spectacularly tragic style. You'd almost feel sorry for him if he hadn't brought the whole thing on himself. Gibson was once the King of Hollywood, of course - he was at one time acting, writing and directing all at once, heading up successful franchises and - believe it or not - winning Oscars. Not to mention that women everywhere were dropping at his feet - and at a point in time where he didn't even have to pay them to do such a thing! Mel's career started to get a little wobbly around the time of The Passion of the Christ, of course, though he probably wasn't all that stable in mind long before he made all those controversial and ill-judged anti-Semitic comments that spurred on his Hollywood decline. Richard Donner, who directed Gibson in all four Lethal Weapon movies, once said of his star: "There's a lot of anger and hostility under Mel's surface." No kidding, Rich. Still, once Mel got started, the madness keep on coming like an avalanche of sh*t from an endless glacier of despair. He got lost in alcohol, was caught on tape verbally abusing his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, and - in an act of super self-destruction - revealed himself to be insanely racist. Also: he insulted pretty much everyone in Hollywood. Which spelled the end for Mel, really. Though he's secured a few roles here and there, most of them ironic, his position as a Hollywood player is now just a distant memory.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
