Andrew Garfield has insisted that Mel Gibson has learned from past mistakes and is ‘a real empathetic guy’ after antisemitic controversy.
The We Live In Time star, who is Jewish, previously worked with Gibson in 2016 on Hacksaw Ridge, which landed them both Oscar nominations.
Almost 10 years on, Garfield, 41, has defended his former director and said he ‘deserves to make films’ as the 68-year-old actor continues to face backlash.
Gibson was blacklisted from Hollywood for several years after accusations of antisemitism, homophobia, racism, and domestic violence.
Hacksaw Ridge was one of his first films back after high-profile actors like Robert Doweny Jr advocated for him, with its critical success cementing his return.
‘He’s done a lot of beautiful healing with himself,’ Garfield told People. ‘And thank God. Because he’s an amazing filmmaker, and I think he deserves to make films.
‘He deserves to tell stories because he has a very, very big, compassionate heart. He’s a visceral storyteller so he can feel … He’s like he can’t help but feel everything. He’s a real empathetic guy.’
Gibson had a string of controversial incidents in the 90s and 00s, drawing the ire of the LGBTQ+ community over comments he reportedly made about Aids.
By 1997 he appeared to have made amends, supporting GLAAD filmmakers and brushing off the comment as a drunken mistake that came back to haunt him.
In 2006, the Mad Max actor then went on an antisemitic rant against a police officer when he was pulled over for drink-driving.
Gibson apologised for the ‘despicable’ comments and denounced it as a ‘moment of insanity’ and worked with Jewish leaders to make amends.
However, the accusations of antisemitism followed him once again when in 2020 Winona Ryder claimed he called her an ‘oven-dodger’ at a party.
Gibson’s representatives denied these claims, calling it ‘100 percent untrue’ and saying she was ‘lying’.
He also has been accused of racism and domestic violence as in 2010, a recording emerged in which he was heard making threats, including use of the n-word, towards his former partner Oksana Grigorieva.
A domestic violence investigation was launched by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which was later dropped when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour battery charge.
Garfield added that they had had ‘deep important conversations’ during their time working together and believes everybody ‘deserves second chances’.
He shared: ‘I learned a lot, actually. I learned that people can heal. I learned that people can change, that people can get help. I learned that everyone deserves respect. And that people deserve second chances, third chances, fourth chances. That none of us are infallible.’
The Spider-Man icon isn’t the only one to defend Gibson’s rocky return to Hollywood, as The Continental: From the World of John Wick director Charlotte Brandstrom, previously sang his praises to .
‘He was extremely kind to the other actors, and especially the younger ones that had no experience,’ shared Brandstrom after there was backlash over his casting in the Amazon Prime series.
She continued: ‘[The cast] were always nervous to be with him but he was very patient, very helpful, and very generous. Anything he could do to help the person in front of him – he did.’
Charlotte also noted he was ‘very respectful’ to the women on set and ‘only saw his good side’.