Mel Gibson is the greatest actor to ever live.

They say that what makes an actor is the ability to stretch. Some actors (using the term to mean either gender here) can't stretch beyond playing something they are comfortable with - the thing that they are the most in real life. Mel Gibson, on the other hand encompasses, through his acting, everything that he is not.

So, let us take a look back at some of the major roles Gibson played through the years:

• Mad Max - In Mad Max, Gibson plays Max, a policeman and family man. He cares about his job, but not that much. In fact, he pretty much gives up on his job because it becomes to dangerous. He runs off on a vacation with his family in hopes of having a happy life. This does not work out, as the bad guys find him and kill his wife and child. He ends up mercilessly slaughtering all of them in a severe case of revengeitis.
• Lethal Weapon - In Lethal Weapon, Gibson plays Martin Riggs, a police officer whose wife was brutally murdered. Crushed by her death, he is suicidal. Having little left to live for makes him a loose canon and sometimes a better cop. In the second installment, Lethal Weapon 2, he meets another woman, sorta falls in love with her, only to have her be murdered by the man that killed his wife. In a fit of rage, he eventually brutally kills the man responsible (while in the line of duty, thankfully).
• Hamlet - He plays Hamlet. Do I really have to tell you what this one is about?
• Braveheart - In Braveheart, Gibson plays a fictionalized version of a real-life person who fought against English tyranny in Scotland. In the film, William Wallace's father and brother are killed by the English. William's uncle whisks him away to... All over Europe, educating him. Eventually, William becomes a man, moves back to the village of his youth, meets a woman and marries her. She is then killed by the English. In a fit of rage, Gibson kills just about everybody whose surname sounds even remotely English.
• Ransom - In Ransom, Mel Gibson plays Tom Mullen, a millionaire whose child is kidnapped. He refuses to pay the ransom on his son, and wants so badly to hurt the people responsible. In the end, he gets his wish and is able to brutally beat the hell out of one of them.
• The Patriot - Gibson portrays Benjamin Martin, a seemingly unassuming farmer just trying to take care of his kids in a world gone mad (The Revolutionary War in America). One of his sons is killed by British troops, and he decides to join the revolution and kill the shit out of anybody wearing red. Before the end of his movie, another of his sons, The Joker Gabriel Martin, is killed by the British commander. He seeks him out during on final battle, making sure to the kill the shit out of him and gloat about it.

So, there we have it - a good list of what were some of the biggest works of Gibson's career. As we can see, Gibson has spent his entire life playing men who are in love with their family and kill the shit out of anybody that fucks with them. He also has played a police officer several times.

On the other hand, in real life, Gibson was estranged from his father for years, left his wife (of many years) for a younger woman. He subsequently had a child with said woman and ended up leaving her. as well.. Only to yell ridiculously stupid and racist things at her over the phone. He's basically shitty to his family in real life; he doesn't seem to care about them at all. Oh, and let's not forget that he also semi-routinely finds himself in trouble with the authorities.

And why ignore the fact that in Lethal Weapon 2, he was fighting white supremacists from South Africa, when in real life, he most likely is one?

This man deserves an Oscar for being able to convincingly portray everything he isn't, time and time again.

At the very least, the guy should get a lifetime achievement award.