Gibson charged with drink-driving

[Wee Gordon]

Gibson charged with drink-driving

Mel Gibson has a string of hit films to his name
Hollywood actor and director Mel Gibson has been charged with drink-driving after being arrested in California.
The Oscar-winner, 50, was stopped while speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, early on Friday, a police spokesman said.

Gibson reportedly failed a breath test. He was charged on suspicion of driving under the influence and freed on bail.

A Sheriff's Department spokesman confirmed Gibson's arrest. His bail was set at $5,000 (£2,680).

Gibson was charged at the Lost Hills Sheriff's station shortly after 0400 local time on Friday, according to department records.

Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said officers had stopped his vehicle while speeding eastbound on the highway an hour-and-a-half earlier.

Gibson's spokesman Alan Nierob said he was looking into the matter.

Obscure dialect

The actor won a best director Oscar for his 1995 film Braveheart, in which he also starred.

His 2004 biblical epic, The Passion of the Christ, was recently named the most controversial movie to date by US magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Gibson, a devout Catholic, shot the film depicting the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ in Aramaic and Latin. It took more than $600m (£337.5m) worldwide

His new film Apocalypto is set 3,000 years ago in central America and features dialogue spoken in an obscure Mayan dialect.

Gibson is also known for a string of other works, including the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max series of films in which he starred.