What is the best acting role of Mel Gibson?

Mad with grief, mad with power, or just plain dangerous — Gibson brought ferocious intensity to every great role, from post-apocalyptic outlaw to Shakespearean prince. Which performance is his finest hour?

1

Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon series)

The suicidal, reckless LAPD detective whose partnership with Murtaugh defined the buddy-cop genre (1987–1998).

2

William Wallace (Braveheart)

The legendary Scottish warrior who rallied his people against English oppression in Braveheart (1995).

3

Max Rockatansky (Mad Max trilogy)

The lone post-apocalyptic road warrior battling chaos across the Australian wasteland (1979–1985).

4

Hamlet (Hamlet 1990)

The tormented Danish prince in Franco Zeffirelli's accessible and action-tinged Hamlet (1990).

5

Frank Dunne (Gallipoli)

A young, spirited sprinter whose friendship is tested by the horrors of the Gallipoli campaign in Gallipoli (1981).

6

Tom Mullen (Ransom)

A wealthy airline mogul who turns the tables on his son's kidnappers by offering a public bounty in Ransom (1996).

7

Porter (Payback)

A ruthless, double-crossed thief who wants only his $70,000 back and will destroy anyone in his way in Payback (1999).

8

Benjamin Martin (The Patriot)

A pacifist South Carolina farmer pushed to lead a militia against the British in The Patriot (2000).

9

Jerry Fletcher (Conspiracy Theory)

A paranoid New York cab driver whose wild conspiracy theories may be true in Conspiracy Theory (1997).

10

Nick Marshall (What Women Want)

A chauvinistic ad executive who gains the ability to hear women's thoughts in What Women Want (2000).

11

Bret Maverick (Maverick)

The charming, quick-witted riverboat card shark in the comedic Western Maverick (1994).

12

Fletcher Christian (The Bounty)

The mutiny-leading first mate who rebels against the tyrannical Captain Bligh in The Bounty (1984).

13

Graham Hess (Signs)

A grieving former priest protecting his family from alien crop circles in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (2002).

14

Guy Hamilton (The Year of Living Dangerously)

A naive Australian journalist navigating political upheaval in 1960s Indonesia in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982).