Mel Gibson Reveals Which (Controversial) Actor He Still Wants to Work with: He's a 'Tricky Customer'

Mar. 15, 2025

Mel Gibson at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2025.Photo:Gerardo Mora/Getty

Gerardo Mora/Getty

After nearly 50 years in the entertainment industry,Mel Gibsonstill has a dream collaborator wish list.

The 69-year-old actor andFlight Riskdirector made an appearance in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 7, where he spoke on a panel duringMegaConat the Orange County Convention Center about his career and personal life.

“He can be kind of a tricky customer, but I love this kidShia LaBeouf,” Gibson continued. “There’s something so truthful about what he does, and he gets into it.”

LaBeouf, 38, has starred in several films that have garnered him attention since his days as a child actor, includingHoles,Disturbia,Transformers,Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,Honey Boy,The Peanut Butter FalconandMegalopolis.

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From L: Mel Gibson at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2025; Shia LaBeouf in Cannes, France, on May 16, 2024.Gerardo Mora/Getty; Luca Carlino/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Gerardo Mora/Getty; Luca Carlino/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

But he has also been at the center of controversy, including a2017 arrest in Georgiaand, more recently,an ongoing legal battlewith exFKA twigs, stemming from her 2020lawsuit alleging sexual and physical abuse. (LaBeouf hasdenied the allegations.)

Gibson, who revealed last month that helost his Malibu homein the Los Angeles wildfires, is no stranger to controversy himself. The two-timeAcademy Awardwinner has opened up in the past abouthis sobrietyfollowing his 2006 anti-Semitic tirade during an arrest for drunk driving.

More recently, PresidentDonald Trumpnamed theBraveheartactor a"special ambassador" to Hollywoodthree weeks ago.

Gibson said last month that he was “surprised” to learn that Trump, 78, had named him,Sylvester StalloneandJon Voightall “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, which the president called a “great but very troubled place.”

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Mel Gibson and President Donald Trump.VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Joe Raedle/Getty

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Joe Raedle/Getty

Gibson’s latest filmFlight Risk —starringMark Wahlberg,Topher GraceandMichelle Dockery— marks his first feature-film directorial project in almost a decade with his last being 2016’sHacksaw Ridge.

During a January appearance onThe Joe Rogan Experiencepodcastto promote the action-thriller, Gibson also confirmed he plansto film a sequelto his 2004 biblical epicThe Passion of the Christ.

“I’m hoping next year sometime. There’s a lot required because it is— I’ll just tell you this, it’s an acid trip,” he said of the film, also revealing its title will beThe Resurrection of the Christ.

“I don’t have a start date; I just have to begin pre-production and see what happens, and it’s just gonna roll in its own time,” Gibson added. “I thought it was late. I thought I was taking too long, but it’s probably just right. It’s when it’s supposed to be.”

source: people.com