Veteran star Mel Gibson is widely considered one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Apart from portraying a gamut of characters in various genres, Gibson is also an Oscar-winning director whose unique narrative and independent filmmaking style has earned him the reputation of being one of the most creative artists in the business.
Oscar winner Mel Gibson
The Braveheart star’s charismatic screen presence and striking personality naturally meant that he was a popular choice to play characters from the superhero franchise as well. Despite being on the Marvel radar as the first choice by to play a powerful and iconic character in MCU, Gibson decided to step back from accepting the offer.
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Mel Gibson Rejected Marvel’s Offer To Play Thor’s Father, King Odin
There is a point in time where every actor dreams of portraying a superhero on screen. With the advent of the Marvel and DC franchises and their cinematic universes gaining momentum, many A-list stars have used the opportunity to embody various superheroes and supervillains on screen. Oscar winner Mel Gibson too, was in the reckoning to take on a grand and aristocratic character from Marvel Comics. The Payback actor was approached by Marvel to play King Odin, the mighty King of Asgard and Thor’s father. When asked about the offer, Gibson had a surprising answer to The Guardian.
“Yeah, long time ago, to play Thor’s dad. But I didn’t do it.”
Mel Gibson turned down Marvel’s offer to play Odin which ultimately went to Anthony Hopkins
While most would agree that The Passion Of the Christ director would have been a perfect choice to play the character of Odin, the celebrity felt that his aesthetic at that point of time was more towards making and directing independent films. The role ultimately went to Anthony Hopkins.
Mel Gibson’s Take On The Superhero Scenario
While Oscar winning director and actor Mel Gibson may have let go of the lucrative offer to play a Marvel character, the celebrity spoke candidly about his opinions on the superhero franchises and the filmmaking style today as opposed to the 80s. While he admitted that he enjoyed watching films like Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Spider-Man films, the Maverick actor spoke to The Guardian in 2016 about the issues that these films and non-superhero projects faced in comparison to their predecessors.
“There is a slight shift in film. I think all films are suffering from people not being able to now open them with their name. It’s a different kind of business these days. I think you used to get more variety of stories, films and performances. You had more of a chance of a profound film experience”
Braveheart director Mel Gibson
Gibson added that there was still an opportunity for films in the modern era to have the same kind of star quality and experience like movies in the late 80s and 90s. The star quoted independent filmmaking as an avenue to bring out more profound emotions.
Source: The Guardian,
Oscar winner Mel Gibson turned down a big offer from Marvel to play the character of Thor’s father Odin in the MCU. Read More