"He stood up and spoke for me": Mel Gibson extends gratitude to Robert Downey Jr. for supporting him

Mad Max actor Mel Gibson praised Robert Downey Jr. in his recent Esquire magazine interview. The former opened up about what it was like to be “canceled” and to have the Marvel lead have his back. The pair worked together on the Air America movie that was directed by Roger Spottiswoode.

In his cover story, Mel Gibson revealed that Robert Downey Jr. was by his side when Hollywood seemingly canceled him while he was facing legal trouble in 2006. While calling the Oppenheimer actor “bold and generous and kind,” Gibson added:

“I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off. So I was pretty much nonexistent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me… I love him for that.”

Robert Downey Jr. showed support for Mel Gibson after they worked on the 1990 comedy film Air America. The Daniel Melnick and Mario Kassar-produced movie follows the pilots and their flying missions in Laos during the Vietnam War.

In the movie, the protagonists do their best to avoid being framed for being drug smugglers after they discover that government agents have been using the flight to transport illegal substances.

The movie grossed over $36,000,000 worldwide.

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“I’m the poster boy for canceled”: Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson revealed in the exclusive interview that he once “got into a bit of a sticky situation” which “ended” his career in the entertainment industry. He also added that he was “backlisted” and subsequently became the “poster boy for canceled.”

As he faced hardships in the film business, Robert Downey Jr. reportedly invited him to a ceremony, leading to Gibson getting film offers again.

The 68-year-old actor was referring to the 2011 American Cinematheque Awards, where Downey used the event to speak about Gibson on stage after winning a prize.

Downey asked the industry to join him in “forgiving” Gibson and to offer him a “clean slate”. Downey also added:

“Unless you are completely without sin, in which case you picked the wrong f**king industry.”

Robert Downey Jr. also said onstage:

"All he [Gibson] asked in return was that someday I help the next guy in some small way. It's reasonable to assume at the time he didn't imagine the next guy would be him or that someday was tonight."

During the event, Robert Downey Jr. also thanked Mel Gibson for helping him battle his substance abuse issues. The latter reportedly told him to “not give up hope" and also encouraged him to “find” “faith.”

After being unable to get hired for a film, Gibson reportedly offered him the lead role in 2003’s The Singing Detective, which was initially created for Gibson.

During the Esquire interview, the father of seven was referring to him being “blacklisted” for four years during his tenure in the entertainment industry. In 2010, he finally landed the Edge of Darkness project, which led to him relaunching his career with movies like Daddy’s Home 2, Machete Kills, and The Expandables 3, amongst others.

He also dabbled in direction with his Hacksaw Ridge project, which went on to receive six Academy Award nominations.

Mel Gibson is now working on directing Flight Risk, which stars Mark Wahlberg. The movie is the continuation of the The Passion of the Christ series.