Gibson rose to prominence during the Australian New Wave cinema movement in the early 1980s, having appeared in his breakthrough role in George Miller's dystopian action film Mad Max (1979), portraying the eponymous hero.
Gibson menjadi bagian dari gerakan perfilman Arus Baru Australia pada awal 1980an dengan tampil dalam peran puncaknya pada film aksi distopia karya George Miller Mad Max (1979), memerankan pahlawan eponim.