As Braveheart’s William Wallace once put it, “Every man dies, not every man truly lives.” And has a man truly lived until Mel Gibson has bailed him out of a jam on the side of the road in the pitch black of night? In a viral video, the star is seen as a true road warrior, helping a citizen air up his tire in an act that has garnered praise for Gibson. While the video has been around for well over a year, new exposure has helped shed a new light on Mel Gibson – no, really, he needs you to shine a light on the pressure gauge for him.
The video, which is embedded below, finds the stranded man askingMel Gibson, “Why are you alone?” The Academy Award-winning actor shrugs his shoulders and responds, “Why are you?” The fella in distress replies, “I am alone because I am not famous,” to which Gibson laughs and says, “I like being alone.” The flat-tired filmer then points to the occurrence marking a lucky day for him, to which Gibson says, “I don’t know…What if I rob you?” before laughing. And then it’s time to get back to work, with Gibson asking his new buddy to shine a line on the gauge.
The video shows that the fan is obviously pretty far from calm about meeting Mel Gibson, but the Braveheart director/actor does his best at playing it low-key, especially considering he has a phone and a giddy cameraman directly in his face while he’s doing a good deed. Mel Gibson has certainly faced his share of controversies, but has genuinely tried to do the work to turn his reputation around. If you need another example, check out the wonderful interview he did with our own managing editor Chris Bumbray, in which he affably discussed projects ranging from newer fare like 2022’s Bandit to the status of the much-anticipated Lethal Weapon 5 to some of his most underappreciated movies like Get the Gringo.
But it’s not just viral videos that show Mel Gibson is in control. It was recently announced that Gibson will helm his first film since 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, directing Mark Wahlberg in Flight Risk.
What do you think Mel Gibson’s public image is in 2023? Give us your take below.