If Mel Gibson had his way, one of the most legendary movies of all time could have changed dramatically.
A representative for the star Michael Ovitz and Hollywood titan Steven Spielberg revealed this in a recent interview. hollywood reporter Gibson was reportedly eyeing the lead role in “Schindler's List.'' Despite Gibson's interest, he was turned down, and the role of Oskar Schindler ultimately went to Liam Neeson.
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Schindler's List won the Academy Award for Best Picture and went on to become one of the most highly acclaimed films. consequential Movies ever made about the Holocaust.
Ovitz, who was involved in the casting decisions for the 1993 film, revealed what was going on behind the scenes at the time.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ovitz revealed that Gibson had expressed interest in the Oscar role and was considered for the role.
“Mel Gibson's name came up. He was interested. His agent recommended him,” the agent said. “But that didn't happen. Stephen wanted a star from outside the movie world to play the role.”
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“A lot of people were interested in playing Schindler, and many of them were movie stars,” Spielberg told the magazine. “[A]And I won't say these names are accurate because I promised them all that I would never divulge their history. ”
“What I'm saying is there were even more people than the names you gave me,” he added.
By then, Gibson had already established himself as a Hollywood star and had completed the third installment of the “Lethal Weapon'' series. (Related: Tarantino named “best movie of all time'')
Neeson was ultimately cast, and the film won seven Academy Awards.
Ironically, by 2006, Gibson had gone on an infamous anti-Semitic rant that would add an ironic twist to the film's legacy.
