More than 20 years before his infamous roadside anti-Semitic rant, Mel Gibson was eager to appear in Schindler’s List.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, ‘Braveheart’ actor was ‘interested’ He played Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi who saved more than 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust.
“Mel Gibson’s name came up,” Creative Artists Agency founder Michael Ovitz said of the industry. “He was interested. His agent recommended him. But that didn’t happen. Stephen wanted a star from outside the movie world to play the role.”
Liam Neeson played the role instead, and the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Neeson told THR that other big-name actors have been considered for the role of Schindler, including Harrison Ford and Kevin Costner.
Twenty-three years later, Gibson, now 68, was stopped in Malibu, Calif., on suspicion of drunk driving and made a bigoted remark to a police officer.
“Fuck you, Jews. Jews are responsible for every war in the world,” he told Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy James Mee, according to an arrest report.
Mee added, “Gibson threatened me almost constantly, saying that he was the ‘owner of Malibu’ and that he would use all of his money to ‘get back at me.'”
Mr. Gibson, who built his career as a director with films such as “Hacksaw Ridge” and “The Passion of the Christ,” later apologized.
“There is no excuse and there should be no tolerance for anyone who thinks or expresses any anti-Semitic language,” Gibson said.
“I especially want to apologize to everyone in the Jewish community for the harsh and hurtful words I spoke to law enforcement officers the night I was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.”
In a 2020 interview with London’s Sunday Times, Winona Ryder claimed that Gibson told her anti-Semitic and homophobic jokes in the early 1990s.
“I remember being at a big party in Hollywood 15 years ago, and he was really drunk,” the “Stranger Things” actress said.
“I was with a gay friend. He told a really bad gay joke. And somehow it turned out I was Jewish. He said something about ‘oven avoiders.’ He said something like that, but I couldn’t understand it.”
Gibson denied the allegations.
The actor will soon be seen in at least two films that are in post-production: The Boys of Summer and The Boneyard. He is also said to be directing his fifth “Lethal Weapon” movie.
