Mel Gibson Interview, Edge of Darkness

After a seven-year hiatus from acting, internationally acclaimed filmmaker Mel Gibson returns to star in the suspenseful new thriller, “Edge of Darkness,” directed by Martin Campbell. MoviesOnline sat down with the award-winning actor, director, writer and producer this past weekend to talk about what it was like to return to work again in front of the camera.

“Edge of Darkness” is an emotionally charged film set at the intersection of politics and big business. Thomas Craven (Gibson) is a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father. When his only child, 24-year-old Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But he soon suspects otherwise, and embarks on a mission to find out about his daughter’s secret life and her killing. His investigation leads him into a dangerous, looking-glass world of corporate cover-ups, government collusion and murder – and to shadowy government operative Darius Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who has been sent in to clean up the evidence. Craven’s solitary search for answers about his daughter’s death transforms into an odyssey of emotional discovery and redemption.

Mel Gibson turns in a terrific performance and we really appreciated his time. Here’s what he had to tell us about his new film, why he decided to return to acting, how he finally quit smoking, and the possibility of a cameo in George Miller’s upcoming “Mad Max 4” (aka “Fury Road”):

Q: It’s great to see you on screen again, especially in an intense thriller like this, have you gotten the acting bug back and might we see you pop up in the new “Mad Max” that George Miller is doing?

MG: Well I walked away from it after “Signs” because I just felt it’s stale and I needed to maybe…it wasn’t ringing my bells. So, I focused on directing and writing and producing and all that kind of stuff, and then it was time to come back. Now I got the acting bug back because I felt like all of a sudden maybe after all these years I might have something to offer again and it coincided with a very good piece of material. Now there was a compelling story with good elements attached. I dug it and it gave me a chance to work with Martin (Campbell) and Ray (Winstone) and Graham (King) and Bill Monahan. Good stuff. If it wasn’t this, it would have been something else, but this was the best thing that I saw.

Q: Have you talked to George Miller since?

MG: Oh yeah. I’ve talked to George. Yeah, we’ve had a good chin wag about it. We talk all the time anyway, George and I. So I’m abreast of that. I know he’s been trying to do this for years, the fourth installment. At one point, I was involved, then it fell to bits and then this and that. So now, it’s probably gone through a lot of changes. I can’t wait to see it because everything he does I think is magic. There’s a touch of genius, more than a touch of genius about George. Probably most of any good trick I’ve ever learned, I’ve learned off that guy and Peter Weir.

Q: Have you ruled out a cameo in Mad Max 4?

MG: No. We’ve just talked. I honestly don’t know.

Q: Once you got back, did you feel rusty at all or did it come back to you pretty quickly?

MG: Well, a little bit. I remember Martin had to tell me to tone it down a couple times because you forget levels and stuff. It’s like dialing in levels and stuff. After that, it was pretty natural. You don’t do something for 30 years and forget it. It felt alright. It felt better actually.

Q: Did you feel the juices were back?

MG. Yeah. Pretty much, yeah. There was something a wise, old – well not so wise and old guy – told me once: Go away, dig a hole, do something else, come back and it magically rejuvenates your creative impulses. He’s right, I think. And I cannot qualify how exactly but I know that something happened. Just nothing better than a vacation sometimes.

Q: What about the physical fitness and getting ready for this? Do you try to stay in shape naturally or was there anything special you did for this, particularly that scene where you’re fighting with Shawn Roberts?

MG: Well the only thing I did with that was just I ordered a chiropractor for the day after because I knew what it was going to feel like. I knew I was going to wake up like road kill and I did. You don’t bounce back as quick as you used to and that guy’s 25 and he’s taking it easy on you. Okay? It’s not a pleasant experience, you know. Things…you don’t pop back the way you used to. But it’s okay so long as it still looks good. (Laughs)

Q: Do you just naturally stay in shape?

MG: I don’t work out much. I try and eat right and exercise a little. That sounds horrible. I quit smoking so that’s something in the right direction. There’s no more fun things left, you know. (Laughs) I just don’t do anything fun anymore. But, that’s dying, isn’t it? I mean, you die in stages, right? You let things go in pieces. It’s more than half way through. Right? For all of us here. Right? Probably for most of you out there too. It’s over half way. More than half way. Not you. You’re not quite there yet.

Q: I was wondering if you watched the original because your performance is quite similar to Bob Peck’s?

MG: It was. Well here’s what’s interesting because I watched it back in the 80s avidly and it was some of the best TV I’d ever seen and British television at that time was great. We’ve all talked about that. But I made a point to not watch it because I didn’t want it to be a part of that but to just try and be truthful. But hey, if you’re saying that my performance was anything like what Bob Peck did, I’m flattered because I think he was amazing.

Q: It’s been 7 years since the last time you acted. What was the most challenging moment for you in this movie?

MG: In this? Boy, challenging. Well, look. Every time you go out there to do something, you wonder if you can do it. There’s no assured success. There’s no secret recipe for success. Every time you go out there, you go out there with the possibility of great failure. The whole business of putting your wares on display, whether you’re a chef or an opera director or a painter or an actor or a filmmaker or whatever you happen to be, you’re throwing your stuff out there for other people and it’s going to be judged and you’re either going to be excoriated or praised or somewhere in between or both sometimes. It’s all a challenge. The whole gig is a challenge.

Q: Why are you drawn to characters that have lost their family and are fighting for justice?

MG: Well, there’s a lot of anger around, you know. And that’s not a good answer either. I think that that’s a very old theme in a lot of stories. If you go back, and Martin and I talked about this, it reminded us of a Jacobean tragedy from the 17^th century in almost every way by one of those guys. Like “The Duchess of Malfy.” Who wrote that? Tourneur? Was that Tourneur? (actually it was John Webster) No, he wrote “The Revenger’s Tragedy.” I can’t remember. They were all written by English guys about the Italians. It was really weird in the 17^th century. Man those Italians are really provincial. But it was all the Brits doing it. I was like, “Look at how provincial – all talking about the other guy.” So that’s what it reminded me of where everybody gets it. Even the dog gets it. I don’t know. It’s an old theme and it’s part of most hero myths. Something sets the spheres awrong and somebody has to right it. It’s a big theme.

Q: You’ve been on the edge many times in your career. You’ve been fighting for film projects, you’ve been at the center of politics and such. All those things make you better as an actor, a director, and obviously as a person. So, how did you quit smoking?

MG: (Laughs) Well all experiences are what does not kill you, makes you stronger and tougher, I think. And life’s experiences, whether they be pleasant, unpleasant, tortuous or excruciatingly wonderful and blissful, season you somehow and you learn from them and hopefully we learn. And isn’t that what it’s about? That’s like, all I’m trying to do now is put some information on a chip that I can leave to my progeny and maybe they can do a better job than I can on this crazy, spinning piece of dirt in the future. How did I quit smoking? It was torture. I’m on Day 9 now so it’s almost over, but the first 3 days I was like an axe murderer. Day 4, I’d come at you with a bat. Day 5, I was dangerous with a lawnmower. But now it’s okay. But it is a hellish habit to break. Your neurons are involved. My mother smoked I think when I was in her womb. I’m not sure. I think so. When I first had one when I was 9 years old, I thought “Oh my God! Yes, I missed this. I knew I missed it.” And 45 years later, after every single artistic decision, every decision I’ve ever made was done with a cigarette and to not have that, that’s pretty hectic. It’s like worse than….that’s crawling on the walls [which] I did for awhile, but anyway…

Q: In the midst of a long acting career, how did you happen to learn to direct? And now with this film, how do you dial back and take direction and not put your two cents in, or do you?

MG: Well, you know, how do you learn to direct? You hang around the hub and watch what’s going on and ask a bunch of questions. You’re there for the inception of an idea. You’re there to see it executed. You’re there to doubt it. You’re there to see if they pull it off or not. And you’re there to share the fruits of victory or failure. So, it’s like wow. It’s like a big science experiment for 30 years so how can you not pick it up. And, if you’re working with really good people, that’s just great. Let go of it? I don’t think you can ever totally let go of it. You can pull back on it and not be too forceful. I hope I wasn’t too hard on Martin here. I don’t think I was, but occasionally I’d say, “Look, dude, why don’t we…” and I’d get an idea or something. And you know what? A good director, if it’s a good idea, and I’ve noticed this, people come to my table when I’m directing and they get good ideas and I say, “That’s a goddamned good idea. Can I steal that?” and they go, “Yes, please.” And you go, “Okay, I’ll take it.” And he actually did swipe one of my ideas. That’s the earmark of a good director when he sees a good idea and he takes it.

Q: You’ve had such a great career. What’s left that you’d like to accomplish?

MG: I’m working with Graham here on the Viking movie. The very first idea I ever had about making a film and my first thought about ever about being a filmmaker was when I was 16 years old and I wanted to make a Viking movie and I wanted to make it in Old Norse which I was studying at the time. It’s odd because at that age you’re like “Well, that’s a stupidly ridiculous idea. How will I ever be a filmmaker? And that’s a dumb idea. It’s just some romantic pipe dream.” But that was the first big, epic, wacky idea I ever had was to show Viking real.

Q: Does that mean that the Viking movie will be in English or in Old Norse?

MG: I think it’s going to be in English, in English that would have been spoken back then, and Old Norse, whatever the 9^th century had to offer. I’m going to give it to you real, man.

Q: We’ve seen that in “The Passion of the Christ” and “Apocalypto.” Is that really important to you?

MG: Yeah, I want a Viking to scare you. I don’t want a Viking to say [Tony Curtis style] “I’m going to die with a sword in my hand.” I don’t want to hear that. It just pulls the rug out from under it. I want to see somebody who I’ve never seen before speaking low guttural German who scares the living shit out of me coming up to my house. Okay? What is that like? What would that have been like?

Q: How hard is that going to be to cast? I’d be curious to see how Leonard DiCaprio goes with the Old Norse thing.

MG: Oh no, he’ll be amazing. He’ll be amazing. He’s a great actor this kid. I’ll just get my family. Like nephews. (Laughs)

Q: Would you define yourself as kind of a documentary filmmaker of the historical past?

MG: Hmmm. I guess so. I like that. I do like history.

Q: You like history?

MG: Oh I love it. I like trying to imagine what it was like, especially if we don’t have a clear picture of what it was. Try to imagine what it was like. Maybe romanticize it, make it compelling for film. Maybe even push it a little over the top. It’s just a question of choices.

Q: Apparently this is not a one off. You’re back in front of the camera again and you’re ready to go. You did a film with Jodie Foster as well? Can you tell us a little bit about that?

MG: Yeah. “The Beaver.” As the title suggests, it’s about a guy…(Laughs) It’s like shooting cats in a barrel. It’s about a man who’s clinically depressed and the way that circumstances somehow dictate that he finds himself with a ratty beaver hand-puppet on his arm. He can’t even kill himself properly but he ends up with a beaver puppet talking and he manages to save himself and his life and his family and everything by expressing himself through this hand puppet because that’s all he can do. He’s too far gone. He’s too broken.

Q: Are there humorous elements?

MG: Well, it sounds pretty bizarre, but she’s a ballsy girl, you know. She was going for real.

Q: Are you currently filming?

MG: Oh no, we finished.

Q: There’s another one, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”?

MG: Oh that. That will happen in March probably. That’s something that I wrote with a couple of the guys on “Apocalypto,” with the First and the Second AD on “Apocalypto.” We sat down and wrote this story, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” about a gringo in a Mexican prison.

Q: You mentioned earlier that you took a period off to kind of recharge. Was there a point during that period where you considered not coming back and felt maybe you’d done what you wanted to do and you were through with this?

MG: Yeah, of course. Probably further toward the beginning and then as time went on, you think, “Yeah, maybe I should try that again.” You don’t know. That’s why I didn’t make some big pronouncement. You know, “I am quitting. I’m retiring.” I didn’t want to do that. But I just thought I’d back away for awhile.

Q: Was that because you were discouraged or just tired?

MG: Just tired and bored with it, you know. I’ve done that a couple of times. I’ve just walked away and spent a year not doing it or do something else. I think that’s a natural thing. As soon as something starts getting a little tedious and you want to sort of spice it up again, you kind of have to change it.

Q: You do such a great job playing a protective dad. Are you one and is it especially hard with daughters?

MG: Yeah, I think I am a protective dad. I’ve never really been in situations fortunately where the kids have been in some harrowingly dangerous experience. I think I related one the other day. It’s pretty basic. I remember I went to the pharmacy to buy some formula for my newly born twins -- they’re now 27 – and I brought my 21 month old to the pharmacy with me because my wife was occupied with twins. It was in a place called Coogee in Australia. There was a pharmacy right on the corner and then there was the Coogee Bay Road, a really busy road. And we had a Karatani nurse from New Zealand at the time who used to help out during the day and go home at 4. So, it’s that time. We’re in the pharmacy. I’m buying formula and I take my eyes off the child for a second and the next thing I look up. I’m saying “Well what’s the difference between this one and this one?” And I look up and I see my child standing about maybe 25 yards away on the edge of the curb and the Karatani nurse at the bus stop on the other side with traffic blowing in front of her going [waving ‘no’ frantically to discourage the baby from crossing]. And she’s going out there to say hi to her. Well, okay, 25 yards, and not much time to get the kid. Okay? So needless to say, there’s an old man with broken ribs. There was a lady with a footprint on her face. I completely wrecked the place to get through that place and get the kid. I broke everything and ran through things and lifted things and threw them out of the way that you weren’t supposed to do to pluck her out before she got struck by a car. So yeah, you’ll do anything for your kids, even kill somebody. (Laughs) But the poor woman…I had to apologize to a lot of people afterwards and they didn’t understand and they get very angry, of course, because you’ve knocked an old lady over.

Q: You said you were recharging because you were bored and tired. Did you learn anything exciting about yourself or about life in general while you were away from the industry?

MG: Well I didn’t really get away from the industry. I learned a lot about the industry. I learned about writing. I learned about conceiving, from conception to writing to bringing that to the screen to sort of mounting a film to producing it to directing it to actually single-handedly marketing and distributing and doing everything except exhibition, and I think I did it, you know. So it’s kind of almost the full thing. And now I’ve bought a bunch of theaters in Australia called the Dendy chain so I’m an exhibitor as well.

Q: What made you want to come back to acting and do it again?

MG: To act again? It was just time. I don’t know. I just felt like doing it. It was my first love. I used to love doing it. If the tarnish is on it and the glow goes off it, you walk away for awhile and when it’s time to come back, you come back.

“Edge of Darkness” opens in theaters on January 29^th.