Claim: Mel Gibson studied in Austria.

Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson -LRB- born January 3 , 1956 -RRB- is an American actor and filmmaker . He was born in Peekskill , New York , and moved with his parents to Sydney , Australia , when he was 12 years old .   Gibson is best known as an action hero , for roles such as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon buddy cop film series , and Max Rockatansky in the first three films in the Mad Max post-apocalyptic action series .   He studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art . During the 1980s , he founded Icon Entertainment , a production company which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called , `` an alternative to the studio system '' . Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli -LRB- 1981 -RRB- , which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute . The film also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious , versatile actor .   Gibson produced , directed , and starred in the epic historical drama film Braveheart -LRB- 1995 -RRB- , for which he won the Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for Best Director , along with the Academy Award for Best Picture . He later directed and produced the financially successful and controversial , biblical drama film The Passion of the Christ -LRB- 2004 -RRB- . He received further critical notice for his directorial work of the action-adventure film Apocalypto -LRB- 2006 -RRB- , which is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century . After a 10-year hiatus from directing , Gibson returned with the critically praised and financially successful Hacksaw Ridge -LRB- 2016 -RRB- , which won the Academy Awards for Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing and earned Gibson his second nomination for Best Director .