The story so far. Following the unexpected success of Todd Phillips’ The Hangover a sequel was never in doubt and in their search to find an actor to cameo in the film in the same way Mike Tyson did in the first, Mel Gibson was all set to make an appearance as a tattoo artist in Bangkok.
Unhappy with the announcement, pressure from the cast meant that the Gibson cameo was nixed and the New York Post ran a story over the weekend claiming Gibson was furious with the situation, citing a source ‘close to Gibson’:
He doesn’t understand why Mike Tyson, a drug user who turned his life around, was given a chance while Mel was kicked to the curb. Everybody deserves a second chance.
The article went on to claim that Liam Neeson was set to take Gibson’s place and this isn’t the first time Neeson’s name has been mentioned to succeed Tyson in the, clearly coveted, Hangover cameo role.
So, despite what you think of both Tyson and Gibson, the brief appearance in the films are seen as having almost redemptive qualities, and when it was announced that Gibson was to make his ‘comeback’ with this role it was seen as giving the actor to chance to make peace with Hollywood audiences before his other films, currently stuck in the pipeline like The Beaver (his film with Jodie Foster) , are readied to be released on the wave of forgiveness sure to greet Gibson when he turned up in the popular comedy sequel.
Given the media onslaught of Gibson following the publication of audio recordings made available by his ex-partner, it is no surprise that his next film role would be subject to equal scrutiny, and bypassing the notion that cameo roles of this nature work far better when they are a surprise (Zombieland – I’m looking at you), it is a strange notion that a few minutes onscreen would change anyone’s opinion of what an actor does off screen.
