Jason Isaacs, recently known for his role as the stressed-out financier Timothy Ratfliff in “The White Lotus,” has shared his complex emotions concerning Mel Gibson.
In a conversation with Vulture released on Monday, Isaacs, 62, who is Jewish, reflected on his dynamics with 69-year-old Gibson. The latter notoriously made antisemitic remarks during a drunk driving arrest in 2006.
“He was personally very charming, plus he’s smart and knows how to make fun of himself,” said Isaacs, who worked alongside Gibson in the 2000 film “The Patriot,” where Gibson was the famous “Mad Max” lead.
“He’s said and done some things that are unconscionable and unforgivable. I was invited by my friend to some charity cricket event for Australians in film. And he said, ‘If you come, Mel will.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to see Mel,’” Isaacs recalled.
“I hadn’t seen him since that terrible antisemitic outburst when he got stopped by the police,” Isaacs said, referring to Gibson’s 2006 scandal.
Isaacs did end up going to the event, and had an exchange with the “Braveheart” star.
“I went, and Mel was there, and he called ‘Jace,’ across the room, very friendly. I went, ‘Rabbi Gibson, how are we?’” Issacs told Vulture.
“[Gibson] came up and he said, ‘I was really drunk, man. I was trying to get him to hit me or shoot me or something. I’m having a terrible time.’ And he proceeded to unload some very personal things.”
Isaacs continued, “He’s not my friend, but — maybe to my eternal shame — I forgave him instantly because he was there making himself vulnerable.”
But, Isaacs said he doesn’t believe that you can forgive “everything from everyone.”
“I’m not saying I forgive Mel. I’ve seen him once a decade for five minutes,” the “Harry Potter” star clarified. “We text each other once in a blue moon about something or other.”
The “OA” star added about Gibson, “I don’t know what to do with the fact that he put a character into ‘The Passion of the Christ’ which is essentially a Jewish demon that doesn’t exist in the gospels.”
Isaacs was referring to Gibson’s 2004 movie about Jesus, which was criticized as being antisemetic. The film depicts Caiaphas, a first century High Priest of Israel, as the organizer of the plot to kill Jesus.
Following the crucifixion in the movie, Caiaphas said in Aramaic, “His blood [is] on us and on our children,” reinforcing the antisemetic notion that the Jews were responsible.
At the time, the Anti Defamation League said, “we fear the consequences of this film.”
Isaacs added about Gibson, “I have no idea what to do about him. But if he knocked on my door tonight and said, ‘Look, my hotel’s canceled. Can I stay?’ I’d say, ‘Yes,’ probably.”
Following his infamous antisemetic rant at police, Winona Ryder, who is also Jewish, also gave an interview alleging that he called her by an antisemetic slur and made a homophobic remark to her friend. Gibson denied her claim.
In 2010, Gibson was also caught on tape saying the n-word, at his then-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. She also alleged that he was abusive.
Grigorieva claimed the actor punched her twice in the head and broke two of her teeth as she held their then-17-month-old daughter, Lucia, during a domestic dispute.
In 2011, he pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor battery against Grigorieva, and avoided jail. Instead, he did 36 months of informal probation, community service, a year of domestic violence counseling and paid $570 in fines.
Gibson has nine children — seven with his first wife, Australian dental nurse Robyn Moor, who he was married to from 1980 to 2009, one child with Grigorieva, and one child with his current girlfriend, screenwriter Rosalind Ross, who he’s been dating since 2014.
Since his scandals, Gibson has quietly made his way back into the spotlight. He directed the Oscar-nominated 2016 film “Hacksaw Ridge,” and recently co-starred in the “The Continental,” a 2023 TV series spinoff of the John Wick movies.
