Andrew Garfield insists that Mel Gibson has learned from his past mistakes and become an ’empathetic man’ following the antisemitic controversy.
The We Live In Time star, who is Jewish, previously worked with Gibson in 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, which earned him two Oscar nominations.
Almost 10 years on, Garfield, 41, has defended his former director and said he ‘deserved to make a movie’ as the 68-year-old actor continues to face backlash.
Gibson was blacklisted from Hollywood for several years after accusations of antisemitism, homophobia, racism, and domestic violence.
Hacksaw Ridge was one of his first films after famous actors like Robert Doweny Jr. backed him, with critical success that made him come back.
‘He’s done a lot of good healing with himself,’ Garfield told People. ‘And thank God. Because he’s an amazing filmmaker, and I think he deserves to make a movie.
‘He deserves a story because he has such a big and compassionate heart. He’s such a visceral storyteller that he can feel it… He can’t seem to feel it all. He is a very empathetic person.’
Gibson had several controversial incidents in the 90s and 00s, drawing attention from the LGBTQ+ community for his reported comments about Aids.
In 1997, he appeared to have made a mistake, backing a GLAAD filmmaker and dismissing his comments as a drunken mistake that came back.
In 2006, the Mad Max actor made an antisemitic taunt at a police officer when he was pulled over for drink driving.
Gibson apologized for the ‘despicable’ comment and denounced it as a ‘crazy moment’ and worked with Jewish leaders to make amends.
However, accusations of antisemitism followed again when in 2020 Winona Ryder claimed she was called an ‘oven-dodger’ at a party.
Gibson’s rep denied the claims, calling them ‘100 per cent untrue’ and saying they were ‘lying’.
He has also been accused of racism and domestic violence as in 2010, there was a recording in which threats, including the use of the n-word, were heard against his ex-partner Oksana Grigorieva.
A domestic violence investigation was launched by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which was later dropped when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge.
Garfield added that they had ‘deep important conversations’ during their work together and believed that everyone ‘deserves a second chance’.
He shared: ‘I learned a lot, actually. I learned that people can heal. I learned that people can change, people can ask for help. I learned that everyone deserves respect. And those who deserve twice, three times, four times. That none of us is innocent.’
The Spider-Man icon isn’t the only one defending Gibson’s return to Hollywood, as director of The Continental: From the World of John Wick Charlotte Brandstrom, previously sang his praises Metro.co.uk.
‘He’s really nice to the other actors, and especially the younger ones who don’t have experience,’ Brandstrom said after the backlash about his casting in the Amazon Prime series.
He continued: ‘(The cast) was always nervous around him, but he was very patient, helpful, and very generous. Anything he could do to help the person in front of him – he did it.’
Charlotte also noted she is ‘very respectful’ of the women on set and ‘only sees the good side’.
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