Mel Gibson's Son Milo Inherited Dad's Looks And Acting Skills

Nov 07, 2020

Mel Gibson has been in the spotlight for decades, but it's only recently that his adult son Milo Gibson has arrived in the limelight. That's because he had a regular childhood and even began his adulthood with a regular job before turning to act. Now that he's grown-up and following in his dad's footsteps, it's hard to tell them apart!

A leading man since the 1980s, Mel Gibson is not only a famed actor, from movies including "Mad Max," "Braveheart," "The Patriot" and "What Women Want," he's also an accomplished director, having directed "Braveheart," "The Passion of the Christ" and "Apocalypto."

He's also a family man with nine children from three relationships. One of his kids, a son named Milo Gibson, has followed in his father's footsteps and is now taking on Hollywood! Milo Gibson, who is 31 this year, is the son of Mel Gibson and his first wife Robyn Moore Gibson. He was born on Nov. 16, 1990 in Australia but was raised in the United States — the opposite of his famous dad, who was born on Jan. 3, 1956, in the U.S. but raised in Australia!

But before we meet Milo Gibson, let's go back to the beginning. Born in the U.S., specifically Peekskill, New York, Mel Gibson was the sixth of 11 children to parents Hutton Gibson and Anne Patricia. His father was a writer and would go on to be a "Jeopardy!" grand champion in 1968. After Hutton Gibson was awarded a large payout in a work-related injury lawsuit in 1968, the family relocated to Sydney, Australia. The move wasn't completely random — Mel Gibson's paternal grandmother was opera singer Eva Mylott, who had been born there, although her family background was Irish.

It was in Australia that Mel Gibson got his acting start, studying at the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Training mostly in the British theater-tradition, he acted in many plays, but upon graduating in 1977, Mel Gibson was immediately cast in the film "Mad Max." While the movie would go on to incredible fame later on, in the meantime Mel Gibson eschewed further movie work in order to work as an actor in the theater in Adelaide for a season.

It was while living there that he met his first wife Robyn Moore Gibson. The couple would go on to be together for decades, marrying in 1980 and having their first child together that year. They had seven children in total but their relationship ended in divorce in 2011, with Robyn Moore Gibson entitled to half of her former husband's $850 million fortune.

Meanwhile, back in the early '80s after Mel Gibson had begun to work in the Australian film and theater industry, he continued shooting movies and his career only continued to grow after he appeared in films such as "Gallipoli," "The Year of Living Dangerously" and two "Mad Max" sequels — "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." It was around this point in the mid-'80s that he and his wife packed up their belongings and moved to Hollywood. But unlike other hopefuls who are often unlucky in a new land, Mel Gibson's career only continued to climb. It was around this time that critics began to draw comparisons between Mel Gibson and other famous actors of the past including Steve McQueen, Cary Grant, Sean Connery, Robert Redford and even "a combination of Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart." Needless to say, he had piqued the interest of film reviewers and audiences alike.

After a few movies in Hollywood, he landed the role of Martin Riggs in "Lethal Weapon," which only cemented his leading man status in Hollywood. A sequel, "Lethal Weapon 2," followed, as well as many other movies. By the 1990s, Mel Gibson was one of Hollywood's leading men and it was around this time that he began to focus on directing as well as acting.

But while Mel Gibson was on top of the world in his career, his personal life was flourishing too. He and Robyn Moore Gibson had already had a number of children including their eldest child Hannah Gibson, who was born in 1980, Christian Gibson, born in 1982, twins Edward and William Gibson in 1985, Louie Gibson in 1988, and Milo Gibson in 1990. The couple would go on to have one more child together, a son named Thomas Gibson, who was born a number of years after Milo Gibson. 

Interestingly, Mel Gibson's passion for the entertainment industry has been passed on to more than just his son Milo Gibson. Although Hannah Gibson didn't choose to pursue a career in acting like her famous father, she did follow him into show business, working as a makeup artist on his film "What Women Want." Like his older sister, Christian Gibson also chose to work in the industry, however not in front of the lens but behind it. He works as a camera operator and has even worked on his dad's movies "Hacksaw Ridge" and "Daddy's Home 2."

Twins Edward and William Gibson have bucked the family trend, however, choosing to live their lives outside of the spotlight. Louis Gibson is another one of Mel and Robyn Moore Gibson's kids who have followed their famous father into his line of work. He also prefers to stay behind the camera and has co-written and co-directed the 2017 movie "Happy Hunting." Then there's Milo Gibson, who's perhaps the most famous of his siblings. He starred with his dad in "Hacksaw Ridge" and is set to appear in "Manifest West" — which is co-directed by none other than his brother Louie Gibson! Lastly, there's Thomas Gibson, who just graduated from college in 2017, but his career aspirations — whether he'll follow his family's lineage into Hollywood or choose a more private life — are not yet known.

But the new millennium also brought a lot of change to Mel Gibson's life, both professionally and personally. After dominating the '90s and early '00s in Hollywood, Mel Gibson's work naturally slowed down, but a series of controversial incidents got him dropped by his talent agency and his projects were put on hold. It was also around this time that he and his wife divorced, leading to what is considered the most expensive divorce in Hollywood history.

While his first marriage was undergoing divorce proceedings, Mel Gibson began dating Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had his eighth child, Lucia Gibson, who was born in 2009. However, the relationship was not meant to be and didn't last long, while it was mired in messy allegations that only brought about more controversy to Mel Gibson's life.

Then in 2014, Mel Gibson's luck began to turn around as he met his current partner and former equestrian, Rosalind Ross. The couple welcomed a daughter in 2017 named Lars Gibson, the actor's ninth child, and the couple is still going strong. It was also around this time that his career began to get back on track, as he appeared in "The Expendables 3" opposite Sylvester Stallone and in 2016 released "Hacksaw Ridge" to great acclaim.

Finally appearing settled after years of turbulence in his personal and professional life, Mel Gibson was asked about his relationship with Rosalind Ross and their 34-year age gap. Speaking to The Mirror, he said:

“Regarding age and relationships, it’s just a number. We dig each other. She is an adult and we dig each other. It might cause a problem and one has a trepidation about these things, but it’s working out great. She is a really special person. I dig her. So there you go. That’s it. What more can one ask?”

The proud dad of nine children has even found time to make jokes about how many offspring he's had. Upon welcoming his ninth kid into the world, he joked to Entertainment Tonight about having more kids than Clint Eastwood, who's equally known for his large family. He said:

“I was talking to Clint the other day. I said, ‘How many kids you got?’ He said, ‘Eight.’ So I’m beating him.”

Now, let's take a look at Milo Gibson's life and career. While many of his siblings have also followed their famous father into the entertainment industry, Milo Gibson is the only one to take the plunge into acting. And with good reason—he's also the child who looks most like his dad! Milo Gibson takes after his dad's good looks, and their resemblance is rather uncanny. He first made his acting debut in the film "Hacksaw Ridge," which happened to be directed by his father Mel Gibson. He told Entertainment Tonight in an interview:

"It was really fun working with him. It was a very actor-director relationship."

He's since had roles in "Gangster Land," playing crime boss Al Capone, "All the Devil's Men" and even had a major role in the movie "Hurricane."

Although he's now working in the family business, Milo Gibson actually didn't want to be an actor at first and chose a couple of rather unusual career paths on his journey to becoming a Hollywood leading man.

In the same interview with Entertainment Tonight, Milo Gibson explained that after finishing high school, he became a massage therapist for two years, which is not the most A-list profession but is no doubt useful. But then he switched careers to something even more unexpected — he became an electrician for five years! He said it was really fun but not something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Hence the switch to acting eventually.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Milo Gibson talked about his jump from an electrician to an actor, and if he wanted to act growing up:

"I think when my brother Louis and I were kids—he's a director now—we'd do home videos all the time and I'd be the actor and he'd be the director. So that's when it started kind of, but then I moved away from that—it wasn't something that was always front of mind for me. I think I wanted to try other things that interested me. It was definitely never pushed by my father or anything like that. "

Milo Gibson went on about how wanting to live without regrets affected his decision:

"But it was definitely something in the back of my mind, like maybe this is something that I'd like to do [someday]. And one day I was kind of like, you know, I don't want to be 60 years old and regret not going for it—I think a lot of people regret a lot of things in life—and I didn't want to be one of those people."

What an impressive resume — he can film action scenes, then come home, fix the lights AND give a massage. What a dreamboat! For now, Milo Gibson's star is one to watch closely. He's still young and his burgeoning career is even fresher, so the sky is really the limit for where he could go. Especially, when taking into account that he has multiple family members working in Hollywood—we're sure they have collaborations planned that we're still unaware of.

If anything, the fact that Milo Gibson is entering the industry as a mature adult will no doubt work to his advantage. We'll likely see an acting legacy left in this family — and by now he seems to know what he truly wants to do in life, and that is to act. We can't wait to see him in more movies and who knows, maybe one day he'll follow further in his dad's footsteps and even direct. Maybe we'll even be lucky enough to see the roles reversed and Milo Gibson directing his father!

Whatever Milo Gibson decides to do, we have to be patient and see what the 30-year-old actor will do in the future. For all we know, he might go back to being a massage therapist or an electrician. Or maybe he'll take up directing like his father. Regardless, it's clear that he's a talented young man who is worth watching in the future, even if he doesn't become a Hollywood superstar.

Do you see the family resemblance between Mel and Milo Gibson? Did you know about Mel Gibson's large family, many of whom have followed their father into show business? Let us know in the comments, then be sure to pass this on to your friends!