Mel Gibson

 Did Mel Gibson really get the Mad Max part because of a bar fight the night prior to the audition?

Yes. This picture is actually from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, but it fits the story of his casting in 1979’s Mad Max.

Writer/Director George Miller and Producer Byron Kennedy actually offered the role to Irish-born actor James Healey. He had appeared in the Australian police procedural drama Homicide.

He turned the role down.

Miller was getting frustrated because they couldn’t find their Max. A casting agent suggested that they meet some graduates from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, which was a very prestigious Australian arts school that only accepted less than 30 students per year.

The 1977 alumni class included Steve Bisley. Mel Gibson was his housemate. He gave Steve a ride to the audition for Mad Max.

The previous night, Mel had been in a bar fight where he picked a drunken fight with a bunch of rugby players.

He was beaten pretty rough and clearly lost the fight. So he was a mess. His face was multi-colored with bruises and cuts.

The casting director saw him and said that they actually wanted “freaks” in their cast. They told him to come back in a couple of weeks when they could see what he really looked like.

Meanwhile, his friend Steve was cast as Max’s best friend and partner Jim Goose.

When Mel returned (face now more healed), he met with George Miller. By this time, George was even more exhausted in his search of his Max, until Mel Gibson walked in.

George said that a chill went up his spine when he looked through the eye piece of his camera.

He knew he had found his Max.