Mel Gibson Reflects on Robert Downey Jr. Coming to His Defense After DUI Arrest: 'I Loved Him For That'

In a new Esquire profile on Downey, Gibson shared how the Oscar-winner helped revive his career after he made disparaging comments about Jewish people during his DUI arrest in 2006.

"One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career. I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid shit, and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I'm the poster boy for canceled," Gibson said, referring to the Malibu arrest. "A couple of years into that he invited me to some kind of award he was getting -- we always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off."

Long gone from the spotlight following the backlash he received following the arrest and the hateful comments he made, Gibson appeared at the 2011 American Cinematheque Awards ceremony, where Downey was being honored.

But what started as a tribute to the Iron Man alum ended up being a call for forgiveness for the Braveheart star, who asked Hollywood to offer him a clean slate.

"I couldn't get hired. So, he cast me in the lead of a movie that was actually developed for him, and he kept a roof over my head. And he kept food on the table. And most importantly, he said that If I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoings and if I embraced that part of my soul that was ugly, hugging the cactus he calls it. He said that if I hug the cactus long enough, I'd become a man of some humility and my life would take on new meaning. And I did, and it worked," Downey said while accepting the 2011 honor, which was presented to him by Gibson.

All Gibson asked, Downey shared, was that someday he'd help the next guy, not knowing that that "next guy" would be him.

"It's reasonable to assume tat the time he didn't imagine the next guy would be him, or that someday was tonight... I humbly ask that you join me, unless you are completely without sin, in which case you picked the wrong f---ing industry," Downey, who is Jewish himself, quipped before asking Hollywood to join him in "forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering him the same clean slate you have given me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame."

"He's hugged the cactus long enough," he added, to the surprise of a visibly shocked Gibson before stepping away from the mic to give his friend a hug.

"I was pretty much nonexistent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me," Gibson recalled. "It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that."

RDJ's support for Gibson isn't all too shocking though, given his shoutouts of the fellow actor over the years, most recently during his 2024 SAG Award winning speech, where he credited Gibson for telling him "to not give up hope" when he "couldn't get sober" in the past.

Additionally, Gibson personally underwrote Downey's liability insurance when he was deemed too much of a risk to hire, something fellow industry friend, Jodie Foster, did as well when she cast Downey in Home for the Holidays in 1995, deep in the throws of his addiction, before later casting Gibson in The Beaver (2011) after his arrest.

"I took him aside at one point during filming and said, 'Look, I couldn't be more grateful for what you've given in this film,'" Foster said while working with Downey on the 1995 film. "'But I'm scared of what happens to you next. Right now you are incredibly good at balancing on the barstool. But it's really precarious, and I'm not sure how that's going to end.'"

When asked by the outlet what it was about Downey that made her believe in him, Foster said, "What was so interesting about him then was what a genius he was -- there was more creativity in his little finger than I will ever have in my whole life -- but he did not have the discipline. He was so out there that all of that wonderful talent was kind of just, like, flailing his arms in the water and making a big mess. But it was in there somewhere, right? Because now he is somebody who's become disciplined almost as a way of surviving."

She added, "I have faith in people's ability to change if they want it, and he really wanted it. And Mel, too."

As for Downey, things like standing up for Gibson, and Foster giving him a chance when many would not have, are all part of the way in which he views life and friendship, with the Oppenheimer star telling the outlet, "If you want to have a friend, be a friend."

Check out Esquire's full profile on Downey here.