Mel Gibson has disclosed a near-fatal incident that occurred during the filming of the iconic film Braveheart.
The 1995 historical drama features Gibson as the 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace, leading the fight in the First War of Scottish Independence. The movie garnered five Academy Awards, including Best Director for Gibson, and was a commercial success.
However, Gibson, now 69, admitted he came close to death on set due to a mishap. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Gibson recounted how he nearly accidentally hanged himself while shooting a scene.
Gibson recalls losing consciousness as a result of the error. Fortunately, the swift action of the crew saved him, allowing him to be rescued in time.
He recounted: “I got hung once by mistake. I was on a film set and I had my neck in a noose and I was directing the film so I’m on a ladder and I’m like ‘so I’ll just be hanging here like this’ and the next thing I knew, I was waking up, I was on the floor,” reports the Mirror US.
“There were all these people standing over, looking at me, and I’m like ‘what are you people doing, get to work’. And they said ‘well you hung yourself’.
“I was like ‘woah,’ you’re kidding me. It happens in an instant and you don’t know it. It wasn’t painful, nothing.”
Mel further explained that after the ordeal, he was “choked out” He continued: “They grabbed me by the legs and got the rope off. It was funny, and I found out what it was like to go into the next realm.”
In the iconic movie Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Scottish hero William Wallace includes a memorable moment where Wallace is hanged but not killed, setting the stage for the powerful scene in which the embattled warrior screams “freedom”.
Gibson has been open about the hazardous situations he encountered while filming Braveheart. Speaking to reporters before the films 20-year anniversary in 2014, Gibson recounted how he narrowly escaped death after a near-fatal encounter with a horse on set.
The Hollywood legend disclosed that he often found most of the horses would scuttle off when he delivered his lines, wrecking the take. In the particular scene in question, his mount was supposed to “rear-up” on its hind legs.
Chatting with the Irish Independent, Gibson recalled: “There was a horse that nearly killed me. He had a good trick where he did this whole rear-up thing, but he’d also fall backwards, which is a problem if you’ve fallen off first and you’re behind him. He did that to me. My stunt double ran in and pulled me out of the way just as the horse fell.”
Despite the visceral combat sequences that the epic film is known for, Gibson notes that the actual harm sustained on the production was minimal. What injuries were sustained by the cast were minor, consisting of “a broken ankle and a hangnail and a busted nose”, according to Gibson.