Book excerpt: From cult screen actor to major movie director, Mel Gibson has firmly secured his place as a Hollywood player. His latest directorial project, The Passion of the Christ, has landed him centre stage once more, and author Wensley Clarkson reveals Mel's views on the controversy surrounding it. In addition, he'll uncover: the years of girlfriends, drinking and gambling; the inside stories of Mel's Hollywood business deals and how powerful Hollywood figures helped him to overcome his addictions to alcohol and cigarettes, plus the details of his marriage to Robyn and the secrets of his life with his many children. Mel Gibson: Man on a Mission provides an in-depth glimpse into the life of an actor who is a fiercely private man about whom relatively little is really known.