How tall is Mel Gibson - Page 6

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Average Guess (231 Votes)
Peak: 5ft 8.99in (175.2cm)
Current: 5ft 8.64in (174.3cm)
Aaron said on 27/May/07
Glenn, I'm curious as to how you plan on "shutting my mouth for me." There's no way you can even back that up, and Jed, how 'bout you learn some proper grammer before you try to call people names.
James said on 27/May/07
Glenn he only looks slightly taller than you in that picture
glenn said on 26/May/07
who is the real dummy aaron?you were prooven wrong.watch your mouth before i close it for you.its easy to be fresh hiding in front of a computer.
Jed said on 26/May/07
Aaron, you dumberer, he says he was put down as 5'8 when compared with other Bond actors. He did not state this as his height.
Metric said on 26/May/07
Gary Sinise has impressive arms too.
Aaron said on 25/May/07
Glenn, why don't you scroll to the top of this page to see where he says he's 5'8 when he's talking about the James Bond role. I think it goes something like this but don't quote me or anything: "They had Sean at 6ft 3, Timothy at 6ft 2, Moore at 6ft and me...at 5ft 8." Those were his own words glenn, you big dummy.
Stiffelio said on 25/May/07
Metric, that's not quite true. Watch Ramson: Mel looks consistently 1 in taller than Gary (5'9" ??) Sinise.
glenn said on 22/May/07
when has he claimed 5-8? he has claimed 5-9 and 5-11.out of his mouth.
Aaron said on 21/May/07
I don't understand why he would say that he's 5'8 if he is 5'9.5. Celebs would never round down their height an inch and a half. That's absurd.
Clive said on 14/May/07
20 years old, but it depends of people. Some people stop growing around 16-18 and others can grow after 20. I think that'll be my case.
Ask to your parents when they finished their growth and you would have an idea for you, height is often genetic.
Drew said on 12/May/07
Well okay fair enough, he is closer to 5'9" than 5'10". Btw, how old are you? I'd do anything to gain another 2cm. I am exactly your height.
Clive said on 7/May/07
Of course Drew, but I meant he was closer to 175cm than 177cm.
I was 175cm last year and I'm currently 177cm. I can assure you that my friends and my family saw the difference ;-)
Drew said on 4/May/07
LOL at the "175-176cm rather than 176-177cm" comment... It's hard to tell a 1cm difference when you're face to face with a person let alone from a movie...
Clive said on 3/May/07
When I saw "What women want" he looked to me 175-176cm rather than 176-177cm...
But one thing is right the comment above, he's about the same height with Michael Parkinson listed at 178cm.
Click Here
The Horse of FUNK said on 26/Apr/07
Hmmmm, Anna's right, he does have a good 2 - 3 inches on her in Braveheart. He never gave the impression of vertically dominating her, however. It's always possible she's more 5'6.5" though, which still leaves him in the 5'9" zone.
Franco said on 22/Apr/07
you should use Metric rather than inches, and you should stick to PAL instead of NTSC and PC's instead of MAC's. lol cant life be simple?????

173cm = 173cm

5'8 will be "near enough" to 173cm which sucks.

Mel Gibbon is 5'8.5 max
Anonymous2 said on 18/Apr/07
That's cos they use 2.5 and not 2.54 as the cm -> inch conversion factor. It makes a big difference....
Anonymous said on 17/Apr/07
omg everyone in sweden says that 5'8 is 176 cm, does someone know if thats correct, rob?

Editor Rob
5ft 8 is and always will be near enough 173cm. 176cm will and always will be a little over 5ft 9...
Glenn said on 18/Oct/06
In 2000,Stef,he looked a shocking near 6ft to me in dress shoes.so I think at his peak he was 5-11.true about Lennons posture.he mustve been 5-10 at his peak.so Paul shrunk huh?
Stef said on 18/Oct/06
yep Glenn, I think Paul's always been like 1 inch bigger than John, say 5-10.5/5-11 for Paul and 5-9.5/5-10 for John. Also, I do believe Paul was a hair under 5-11 in his heydays, maybe at 5-10 3/4 or 5-10.5 (179 cm), but the thing is he's always had excellent posture! On the contrary, John might have been a full 178, but he had very bad posture and used to slouch a lot, particularly from the late 60s on (yoko's influence?? :D)
A for Paul, the last time I met Macca was in 2004 and I met him twice in 2003, shook his hand and got him to sign me an autograph. Honestly, he looked a bit shorter than me (I'm 5-10 and wore flat shoes) at around 176-177 cm (5-9.5).
But still I agree Paul can look taller than he actually is, due to the fact that he's thin and has great posture.
Glenn said on 17/Oct/06
Yeah,Stef.its obvious he is below average.5-8 is short,but still average.how tall was Paul to you? he always seems 5-11,5-11.5 to me,yet maybe he shrunk.havnt seen him since 2001.everyone on this page is saying 5-9.5,5-10.and I STILL dont see how Lennon is 5-11 when Paul is close to 2 inches bigger at times.I heard 5-9 for Lennon.
Stef said on 17/Oct/06
@ Glenn

pics + I met Paul like 3 or 4 times ... and when I saw them at the "love" musical premiere it was just an easy guess!
TJ said on 16/Oct/06
Ringo has himself said that, while he was publicised as 5'8 in the 60s, he was actually 5'6 1/2. Probably a little shorter now.
Glenn said on 15/Oct/06
Thanks Stef.studying pics,or you met him? 5-7 or 5-8 on Ringo is absurd.
Stef said on 15/Oct/06
Glenn, I agree with you on Ringo.
Glenn said on 14/Oct/06
Ringo mighve been 5-6 in his prime.people never believe me on that.I see the guy often.
anonymous said on 14/Oct/06
Ringo only 5'5?!?! sheesh i never would've guess. so i guess that accounts for him but what about the two others, there's no way Mel was looking down at them? Was he wearing stitlts. And I forgot to mention how Mel called them hairy.....hahaha, just look at any shirtless candid of Mel, i don't think any of the fab four ever needed a good waxing as bad as Mr. Gibson here.
Glenn said on 11/Oct/06
Ringo is 5-5.
anonymous said on 11/Oct/06
i just think that mel has a lot of nerve to say that all three of the remaining beatles were shorter than him (paul at 5'11 george at 5'10 and Ringo at 5'8 if im not mistaken).

Either that quote is completely fabricated or mel is a flat out liar-or the beatles are the size of gary coleman!!!
Boche said on 5/Oct/06
If Glenn claims Gibson is in fact 5'8", why is he still listed at 5'9.5"?
Glenn said on 4/Oct/06
Exactly T.everyone should read your post.
t said on 2/Oct/06
i don't understand how everyone claims to be able to judge someone's height from a photo. i've had countless pictures taken of myself where i look either taller or shorter than the same person. subtle shifts in posture, different shoes. position relative to the camera and many other factors can make it very difficult to accurately judge someone's height. unless you've stood right next to someone (with both of you barefoot) you really don't know. you can speculate a range, but that's about it.
Editor Rob said on 17/Sep/06
In a 1990 interview, Orange County Register:
"What really makes him [Gibson] laugh is all this talk about his looks and the obsession with his height (he says he's 5 foot 10 although he says he's read that he's 5ft 4)"
Glenn said on 15/Sep/06
Thanks Leonari.some dont want the truth.
leonari said on 14/Sep/06
Glenn: your the man! you pinned these guys down 100 % correct. Great job...but some will never be convinced...
Glenn said on 12/Sep/06
Cruise never looks tall.though I heard a couple claims,and saw one perplexing pic where he towered Speilberg in a full frame shot.Gibson CAN have a knack for not looking short,or even tall.average.and heard reports from 5-10 to 6-1! obviously from idiots.but I found alot pics where he is for SURE 5-7,5-8.Sly almost always looks TALL.sometimes average,and once in a blue, short.in reality,the truth is as follows.Cruise is 5-7,Gibson is 5-8 and Sly is 5-10.thats as accurate as youd get from someone who sees these people in the flesh.
Security said on 11/Sep/06
Mel Gibson is 176 cm now
ForensicNYC said on 28/Aug/06
"Hey, Siggy, thanks a lot for being BAREFOOT today..."
Click Here
"If you ever wear those stilletoes again, I am leaving for good..."
Click Here
leonari said on 16/Aug/06
Anonymous: show me a pic where Gibson or Cruise look really tall. Like Sly for example. Bull! Glenn agrees with me. If you are 5'4" and stand next to Cruise in his lifts and precent exagerated posture: yes he will look tall. But if he would stand next to Sly, wearing the same shoes he would look barely average. Tall.....unbelievable.
Anonymous said on 15/Aug/06
Gibson can look quite tall, even if he may not be.....so can Cruise, for that matter.
Glenn said on 15/Aug/06
True on all leonari!
leonari said on 14/Aug/06
mug shots are taken with shoes on! So if it shows 5'10" he can indeed be 5'7"to 5'7.5" (thats the height I think he is). almost an inch of regular heels (most men shoes have at least 2 cm heel and Mel is known to love cowboy boots which have almost 2 inches of outside heel!!!) and almost 2 inch lifts are no problem. Man people get fooled easily...especially in the united states...As I said more than once: I am exactly 5'7". I have very good posture (learned from SLy :-) ). With the right shoes with a bit of a heel, let's say 3 cm+good lifts I can stand as tall as my 5'10" friends who are slouchers...The lower end to look average with lifts is 5'6-5'6.5...Below that it will always be noticeable that someone is short cause their body frame and parts of their body:arms, legs etc. will give away the truth. In my opinion this goes for Gibson as well as Cruise. SLY is a different case cause he truly is average height barefoot. So is Johnny depp. Give these guys the right shoes and + good posture and they look tall. Cruise and Gibson never look really tall. NEVER. Not in their movies, not in pictures. Nowhere.
Anonymous said on 14/Aug/06
In Braveheart, Scots comment on how he's not big enough to be William Wallace
Frank2 said on 11/Aug/06
"Willis might even be 6'0.5."

Then I'm 6'0.5" since we're the same height.
Glenn said on 11/Aug/06
They didnt specify what kind of tic.no nut the bug.I myself,have a, thank God,mild, unoticible, tic cracking my neck.as of 4 years.no one ever mentions it and when I bring it up my friends go "huh"? and they are brutally honest.Mcfan,your the only person that agrees with me on Willis.
ForensicNYC said on 10/Aug/06
"[Editor Rob: a tic??? an eye twitching thing or something else?]"
You mean the "twitch" of Inpector Dreyfuss? (Herbert Lom)?...
Click Here
Click Here
Yeah....there's a glint of twitch there...
Click Here
Glenn said on 10/Aug/06
Heard he had anxiety down in mexico due to heat and stress that lead to this.and even devoloped a tic.

Editor Rob
a tic??? an eye twitching thing or something else?
Sam said on 8/Aug/06
I thought he was a little shorter but maybe the biggotry boosted his height as well as his recent bad press. Problably 5'9-5'10
Regus said on 7/Aug/06
Maine-based Mel Gibson story. One of my parents used to teach in a Maine High School, and while Gibson was filming the 'Man w/out a Face' there, they filmed a football game at Bowdoin College. They used the local HS students etc as extras. So there's my mother, looking all over the place, right by the sidelines, for 'Mr Big Hollywood Star'. Turns out Gibson was standing prob. 10 feet from her, max. When his true Identity was made known to her, she said, and I quothe: That's him? That short, old wrinkled chain smoking guy in the Sweater?!" I understand Gibson did overhear this, but anyways... Apparently he was kinda 'bossy' as well. Not a big deal, but it's kinda funny, given the current situation here.
ForensicNYC said on 7/Aug/06
Click Here
Click Here
Glenn said on 7/Aug/06
True George.
George H said on 7/Aug/06
Look at the (lack of) length of his arms, when comparing him to guys who look the same height next to him in photos. His shorter arms are a dead give away that he's wearing suspicious footwear.
Glenn said on 6/Aug/06
I believe that Frank.
Frank2 said on 6/Aug/06
For what it's worth. a friend of mine is a retired LA cop. He tells me that famous celebs almost always get special treatment going so far as to disguise their true height providing they're short.
Frank2 said on 4/Aug/06
Viper, you're correct. Gibson is 5'8". So much for going by what's officially posted.
Viper652 said on 4/Aug/06
What does everyone think of the reported 5-10 from the mugshot? I still think he is 5-8 barefoot.
Glenn said on 4/Aug/06
Thanks for that Ed.
HelloKitty said on 4/Aug/06
Thanks Glenn, lucky mel has friends in high places. With all that's going with mel, his height is the least of his problems.
Ed said on 3/Aug/06
Just saw a pic of the police report in a magazine, and it had Mel at 5ft10.
Glenn said on 3/Aug/06
Everthing you said makes 100% sense Frank.you know many jewish friends I had that would make remarks to each other that would make mad mel seem sesame street in comparison?
EJ said on 3/Aug/06
Yeah, yesterday on the radio they were saying that the media is more interested in Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism than Hezbollah's anti-Semitism. I guess it's a good point, one is speech and the other is violence.
Glenn said on 3/Aug/06
No Sam.Im Irish/Latino.Mel is full blood Irish. Hellokitty-he is friends with the head of the department that arrested him.so they would immediatly skipthe height part I guess.plus they tried to cover it up.and he is wearing boots in my pic.
Lmeister said on 3/Aug/06
Check out those heels...
Click Here
HelloKitty said on 3/Aug/06
Mel looks about the same height as Glenn in the pic.
Glenn said on 1/Aug/06
True Rob! Rick,they are trying to keep details and pics under wraps due to the anti-semetic remarks by Mel.
Moon said on 31/Jul/06
Click Here here is the link where joan rivers talks about mel's height.
beaner said on 31/Jul/06
Him and Tom Cruise should co-star in a movie. It would take away lots of unnecessary angles and lifts.

Editor Rob
it could get silly though. They meet and shake hands and are 1.5 inches apart. First day of shooting Tom comes striding out his trailer and looks Mel directly in the eye. Next day Mel comes out his trailer and he's now got his inch advantage over Tom...and before you know it by the end of the week they're walking about on stilts!
Jack said on 30/Jul/06
Maybe 5'8.5....

Next to Joaquin Phoenix.... he doesn't look anymore than a half inch in this picture:

Click Here

Editor Rob
well, he's a chameleon of height. One second he's shorter than shingalingding, the next he magically outgrows shim.
Zach said on 25/Jul/06
Think the others have a valid point here Rob. As I mentioned before, Russel is clearly taller than Gibson in Tequila Sunrise, so I really cant see how you can have Kurt at 5'9 and Gibson at 5'9.5. Either Kurt Russel is 5'10 or Gibson is as others have been saying 5'7-8, more likely 5'8 IMO.

Editor Rob
...gibson and kurt are kind of guys that are both suspect in footwear, probably Mel moreso. Both these heights could be closer the 'other way around' or gibson really is due downgrade. Some of the heels he wore in 80's are visible as being large

I'd never discount though, the existance of a rider in contracts which favor making one guy bigger than other, although that might not be the case in sunrise.
Anonymous said on 24/Jul/06
Thanks for that anonymous.he loves sushi.a similiar photo is here at a sushi place in NYC.except he was smart enough to sit down.
Anonymous said on 23/Jul/06
i don't know if this counts for anything but in philadelphia i was at a sushi bar that mel visited and you know how they show their photos on the wall of the celeb at the restaurant? well, out of curiousity i looked at the pic of where mel was standing and it showed head just barely above a certain mark on the wallpaper-well guess what?!? that same wallpaper was their when i visited a couple weeks ago and at 5'6.5" i was almost up to the same spot as mel! looks like someone forgot to wear lifts that day......this guy does a very good job of looking tall i don't know how he does it but i could swear he was 5'11" by seeing him on screen....it seems that the camera doesn't only add 10 pounds, but also about 10 cm too!!
MHouillon said on 23/Jul/06
Why is Mel still at 177 ? He'S 175 maximum. Time to downgrade, Rob !!!
leonari said on 22/Jul/06
GLENN: THANK YOU MAN! You are the best. Finally somebody reliable who agrees with me that Gibson is on shorter side of things. almost 5'10" is out of the question...But Rob keeps him higher than Stallone..
Glenn said on 21/Jul/06
dont forget,Mel said himself he was 5-11.the truth is Kurt is between 5-8 and 5-9.and Mel is between 5-7 and 5-8.I swear.take it from me.
Zach said on 20/Jul/06
Watched Tequila Sunrise few days ago, in every scene Kurt Russel - who is listed on this website as 5'9 - is taller (if only by a small amount) than the supposed 5'9.5 Mel Gibson.
Larry said on 16/Jul/06
John - I know that museum well, on South Alamo St. (across from The Alamo). Good museum. :-)
Glenn said on 15/Jul/06
He had cowboy boots here.
John said on 14/Jul/06
I have been to a celebrity wax museum in San Antonio, Tx. A display explains that the celebrities were measured precisely "from head to toe" for the molds. I stood on the stage that Mel Gibson was on (still being behind the rail). His wax model in the Mad Max costume was wearing boots. He was about 5 feet away. He appeared short than me, and I am 5'8". He is not 5'9.5" and was probably wearing special shoes when Glenn met him.
Frank2 said on 21/Jun/06
I'm nearly 60 and haven't lost anything in height. Mel has lost his hair, but I doubt he lost anything close to an inch. He's still 5'8".
Viper652 said on 19/Jun/06
I highly doubt Mel has shrunk at all at his age. This shrinking stuff is blown out of proportion. I bet the most Mel will shrink is only an inch, and thats a stretch even at 80 or 90 years old.
theheightguru said on 18/Jun/06
I'm with you, Talia. I don't know why the 'bigger is better' mentality persists when it comes to men's heights. I think it stems from the fact that our culture has been significantly influenced by the modeling industry, so we regard anyone less than 'model height' as short. I am 5'2 and a half, and I generally don't like dating men more 4-5 inches taller MAX. Sorry about the double post, but I left out a word in my original one.
Talia said on 17/Jun/06
This guy is even more attractive in real life!! I saw him in Rome with a lookalike son a few years back. At a guess I would say he is around 5`9. Everyone shrinks as they age....everyone. He is coming up on 50 so he will have shrunk already. At least an inch. I am 46 and have shrunk by 1.5 inches. This is definite. Anyone can stand tall or slouch so what`s a few inches - nothing. He is not short. Short is 5`4. He is in the average range. Big men intimidate me and this is more common than you would think. I like men a few inches taller than myself (I`m 5`4). Guys of 6`2 and more look wrong to me. It looks so odd when they are with small females - like a child with it`s parent. I like looking into eyes not teeth, chin or God forbid nipples YUCK!!!!!
Max said on 31/May/06
how can you see the height of someone watching a movie??? Unless two actors have a big height difference, if the camera isn't placed at the same level of their heads they will look the same.
It's a common technique in the movies, they can make a short person look taller or vice versa, it depends on what they want to obtain.
Stiffelio said on 17/May/06
I watched Maverick and The Man Without a Face recently on TV. I was surprised to see that in both movies supporting actor Geoffrey Lewis, who's listed here and elsewhere on the web as 5'9", is consistently taller than Gibson, by at least 1 full inch. Food for thought?

Editor Rob
I did think lewis might have been 5ft 10er...a possibility
ForensicNYC said on 8/May/06
Correction: The logies were on May 7 and not April 30...got calendars wrong...
The Horse of FUNK said on 5/May/06
I so do not look forward to getting old...
Frank2 said on 5/May/06
No, not everyone does. A good example is producer A.C. Lyles who's well into his nineties and is still a solid six footer. He's the oldest living employee at Paramount Studios having been there for well-over 70 years! Over the years when I've met him he never gets shorter. Quinn might have lost some height. By the time of A Walk in the Clouds he was no taller than Keanu Reeves and recently I found a mug shot of Reeves by a police height chart and it shows he's just 6' although he looks taller on film. But he's very thin so that gives the impression of being taller. But in The Devil's Advocate, Reeves was no taller than 5'9" Charlize Theron when she put on high heels. In fact in the elevator scene she's a little taller. I believe Quinn was between 6'1" and 6'2" when he was younger. He looked to be 6'2" in The Guns of Navarone. He was a big-boned guy and usually his size made him look even taller. But he was a little shorter than Gary Cooper back when he played an Indian in a western at Paramount. Jimmy Stewart never seemed to lose height as he aged. I saw him, said hello and shook his hand at The Golden Boot Awards when he was at least in his late seventies and he towered over me. I doubt Gary Cooper lost that much in height. Yes, there are exceptions. But then there's Bob Hope who's more like the rest of us. He went from being 5'10" to being about 5'6".
frank p said on 4/May/06
Borgnine might not have lost height though Frank2. When you mentionYou know they say everybody does? Anthony Quinn comes to mind as one who didn't seem to.

I personaly have had a disc removed in my lower back and a neck fusion which the doctor told me I may shrink a little. I'm 5"10 in my stocking feet cause I just measured last Feb. At the most I've shrunk maybe .75 of an inch and I'm 46. So I think without the surgeries I think I would've been the same honestly. I also used to do heavy barbell squats. They really didn't seem to effect my height one way or the other.
Frank2 said on 3/May/06
Borgnine used to be about 5'11", but I'm sure he's lost a couple of inches. He's now well into his eighties. Johnny Mathes is short, possibly no more than 5'8". Sammy Davis Jr. was about 5'3". George Hamilton is still 6'1" and looks terrific, especially being in his mid-seventies. You'd think with all the sun he's gotten he'd have no face left. James. B. Sikking is about my height or 5'11". I once chatted with him on the Fox Studio lot. Nice man.
Ryan said on 2/May/06
I think he's more like 5'10.
Glenn said on 2/May/06
I meant that Im shocke he admited that he was short.
frank p said on 1/May/06
Glenn says on 4/Feb/06 "wow frank.thats crazy."
Hi Glenn loooong delayed reation on my part. Do you mean "crazy" as in ludicrous or absurd? Or crazy as in cool/wild info?
Editor Rob said on 25/Apr/06
Click Here

Any Aussies know how tall that Mike Walsh fellow was?

There's a few good photos on his site and I'm buggered trying to figure out how tall he is exactly...look at the pics he's got with Barbara Windsor (4ft 11), Cher/Cilla, Danny la Rue, George hamilton (6ft 1), Gibson, Borgnine (5ft 10 then?), James Sikking (5ft 11 nowadays?), Johnny Mathis (hmm) and Sammy Davis (5ft 3ish?)...
J. said on 25/Apr/06
Here we go again ...check out Stephanie Curtis' piece 'Doorways Don't Lie' which challenges Gibson's average height claims (and Billy Bob Thorton's too!): Click Here
Glenn said on 19/Apr/06
I felt 5-8,5-9.
Gotxo said on 19/Apr/06
Frank-Glenn-Mr.R:
thank you all for your answers. I thought it was reasonable for the agents to list their represented stars in the best way possible, even if that implies lying, in oder to get best roles. Your replies leads me to think that those height boost deal more with the star's ego.
Glenn you've meet him,i know it's tricky but can you make a guess on his height-sans boots?
Gotxo said on 19/Apr/06
Doh!
Our friend Raj is messing again with identities! This time has messed his own one with mine. Very traceable since he's substracting an even unit from a height again, in this case an inch (i've to say that i'm more close to 181cm for most of the morning than to 180cm in reality, you can downgrande me to 5'10.5" afterwards).
Anyway i never had problems dating girls, in fact i've been too lucky and have no shame in admit that are women the ones that choose and we the ones who belive we had a success.
BTW: I don't really think calling people gay is an insult,it's simply a way of being. Can't imagine wich advantage could you take on me being me that.
But it would be a repulsive thing to be a guy that think the world of himself only because he's 183cm, that enjoys teasing people and is a complete jerk.
I can't downgrade myself taking your stinky nick and writting a few lines that suppossedly reflect your thoughts (you don't have).Sorry friend i know you'll excuse me this one.

Editor Rob
yeah, I deleted that comment, that was a stupid remark in fact, slipped by the eyes there!
MHouillon said on 19/Apr/06
My god... Why is he still on 177 ? On Braveheart, which I watched yesterday, he was 175cm. He even stated that he is 175 (5'9)... Why is he still on 177cm (5'9.5) ?

Very weird

Mel Gibson is 175cm.
Mr. R said on 18/Apr/06
Gotxo, I have never heard of a height clause in a contract either. Usually, the celeb's handlers and publicity folks handle the physical vitals. However, I am aware of some folks, Dean Cain comes to mind, who will insist that no on eon the set be taller than they are. MANY supporting folks are cast in projects based upon their height in relation to the star. For example, Ken Norton was supposed to play Apollo Creed in Rocky, but when they set up the shot, he towered over Stallone. Hence, Carl Weathers became a star.
Glenn said on 16/Apr/06
you know I never looked at it that way gotxo.could be.
Gotxo said on 15/Apr/06
Glenn:
That's an interesting point, do you know if some stars are obligued by contract to report their heights in a certain way? Downgrading theirselvers if they are huge or the opposite if not as tall as expected.
This could be the case, or just vanity.
Glenn? Mr.R? Frank?
Glenn said on 14/Apr/06
interesting.maybe he is finally telling the truth.in a magazine 5 years ago,a UK mag I think,he said he was 5-11,and made it a point to squash this myth that he was short.
Gotxo said on 14/Apr/06
I could buy 5'9" for him, he looks 5'10" regularly, but in "the patriot" Heath Ledger appears to have more than that 3" of supposed advantage.
Shaun said on 14/Apr/06
Mel Gibson stated on a Radio Times interview last year that he was "about" 5'9".

Editor Rob
he said this for sure? Any idea what month...
Mad Max said on 13/Apr/06
You all have probably seen "Mad Max" movies. Well, my point is that he's very young in those movies and "for some reason" looks pretty much shorter (about 5'9) than nowadays. I don't think he's even close to 5'10...
Glenn said on 27/Mar/06
I appreciated that Frank!
MHouillon said on 26/Mar/06
Why not giving him, what he deserves (I mean what his actual height really is) ?

He's not a 177cm but a 175cm.
sf said on 24/Mar/06
Rob - I think you love Mel, cause you just don't want to admit he's shorter!

Editor Rob
well, Road Warrior is one of my favorite films, but we're only interested in the truth really.

I wish I could his Parkinson appearance again. It's probably the one thing that would support Mel's own claim of being 5ft 10. Parky has stood beside thousands of celebrities in his career not to be 5ft 8, and they were very similar in height on that show...I mean Gibson pointing to his shoes and the camera even focussing on them as he's going 'and look, no lifts' was pretty funny at least.

Gibson and Rod Stewart are two guys who've seemed annoyed on that show about their height, Gibson being described as 5ft 8, Stewart as low as 5ft 5 (he too stood up beside Parky and looked no shorter than 5ft 10)
Glenn said on 23/Mar/06
But tom doesnt usually wear lifts.mel is more likelier to.and if basing it on that Air America movie,gibson is wearing heels in that and lord knows what else.whatever he is,he has balls to say he is 5-11.
MHouillon said on 23/Mar/06
A Tom Cruise height (5'7) for Mel is does not hit the spot. He's slightly taller than 5'8 Robert Downey Jr. So I swear on 175cm (5'9") Ed-Harris-area.
Glenn said on 23/Mar/06
That was my old guess,but more evidence points to a possible 5-7,-5-8.
MHouillon said on 22/Mar/06
Some say 177cm (5'9.5), some say 173cm 5'8. Why don't you realise, that he is the exact same height as Ed Harris ? Yes, Gentlemen the truth lies between 173 and 177 = 175cm (5'9) !! (Ed-Harris-Height).
Anonymous said on 18/Mar/06
Man! That picture Dale posted is quite moving...
sf said on 17/Mar/06
mcfan - I have to respectfully disagree. The above picture, Glenn and Frank2's insight, everything else - I don't think Gibson is over 5'8".

So, change this height Rob!
Pop Ratsee Dale said on 16/Mar/06
Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel. Jim wears thin sandals while Mel has normal looking hiking shoes. Their difference is about 3" between eyelines. If Jim is 6'1" then Mel Gibson is about 5'10" with a slight shoe advantage.....

Click Here
mcfan said on 16/Mar/06
Amazing how Gibson draws attention like Tom Cruise. Unlike Cruise, this guy isn't 5'7-5'8. He's 5'9-5'9.5. His features are stocky giving the appearance of a shorter guy. He's average. With boots on, give him an extra 1.5 inches.
Glenn said on 16/Mar/06
He has cowboy boots on in this pic.
leonari said on 16/Mar/06
I have to agree ROB: Why are you leaving this guy so tall?? He claerly ain't over 5'8"....PLEASE MAN.
Glenn said on 16/Mar/06
Actors,even industry types forget the fans paid for their houses.not Cruise.thanks for backing me on that Rob.
sf said on 15/Mar/06
Okay Rob - What the heck do you have Mel Gibson still at near 5'10" for? Between Glenn and Frank's pictures and first-hand accounts, it sounds like Gibson is no taller than 5'8".
Frank2 said on 15/Mar/06
No way is Beatty 5'11" or that makes me 5'9" and then Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Ricky Nelson and a slew of other celebs I've know would all lose a couple of inches. As far as being nice, I based my observations on my own personal experience as well as those of others in the industry. How these people act in public is another story. Gibson was very nice to me as well as to the people I was with when we spoke with him. On the other hand, Cruise acted somewhat rude. Beatty was also nice especially after being yelled at by my secretary. A few weeks after that incident I was driving home taking Mulholland Drive when I spotted Beatty at a stop light. He looked over at me and got a big grin on his face and waved. I'm sure he remembered the parking incident. Later I had to fire my bitchy assistant.
Glenn said on 15/Mar/06
Outside the industry its the opposite.Cruise is maybe the nicest considering his stature and gibson was once the worst.Beatty is slighty reclusive,but very nice and rumored to be 5-11.

Editor Rob
I do read a number of stories from fans with Cruise, appears he seems to appreciate them a lot more than some!
Frank2 said on 14/Mar/06
I met Warren. In fact one day he took my parking spot by mistake. This was when I worked at Fox Studios. I had noticed my spot had been taken and had reported it to security. When my female assistant who was an utter terror heard Warren getting back into his car which was just outside my office window she ran outside and started giving him hell! I went out to see what all the fuss was about. Warren drove his big, black Mercedes over a few spots and parked it. He ended up apologizing to me profusely and we talked briefly. He's about 6'1" now, down from his earlier reported height of 6'2". Nice man. A class act. I doubt that Cruise is any taller than 5'7" and from that shot he looks like he was minus his lifts that day. Beatty looks to be at least five inches taller than Gibson and six inches taller than Cruise. Gibson is about 5'8" as I stated earlier. He's also a very nice person. In fact he's one of the nicest I've ever met. On the other hand Cruise is.....well, not very nice. I used to see him on the lot when he was making Minority Report for Spielberg. He's the only actor I know who was chauffeured around in a Porsche. And no, he doesn't sit in the back.
Glenn said on 14/Mar/06
Interesting photo!
Frank2 said on 14/Mar/06
I have an interesting photo of Gibson standing next to Tom Cruise and Gibson is taller by two inches. In the same shot is Warren Beatty who towers over both men. I'll scan it along with a few others and send them to Rob. I have a photo of Robert Taylor with Ronald Reagan and Reagan is several inches taller. I also have a shot Of Robert Redford looking to be at least three inches taller than Robert DiNero.
Anonymous said on 13/Mar/06
I have met Mr. Gibson while working on Captiva Island (southern Florida, near Ft. Myers). I stand ~5' 9" barefooted and Mr. Gibson walked in wearing sandals. Having loafers on, I had a 1-1.5" advantage, and looked only slightly down at Mr. Gibson.

I would estimate that his height at between 5'9" and 5'10", but not more.
Glenn said on 11/Mar/06
I finally came to a conclusion after all these years on his height.he is 5-7 or 5-8.instead of being 5-9,5-10.M knight was an inch or 2 taller than me and in these photos of them at the SIGNS premiere,he looks that next to gibson.type up SIGNS premiere mel gibson.
Frank2 said on 8/Mar/06
I met him at Fox Studios. I was with two other people and when we left him we all remarked on how short he was.
Anonymous said on 6/Mar/06
Frank2, could you please substantiate your estimate of Mel being just 5ft8"? Tks.
Frank2 said on 5/Mar/06
Gibson is five eight.
Glenn said on 4/Mar/06
Lisa,thanks for the compliment.but remember he is wearing cowboy boots and im wearing black reebocks.
lisa said on 3/Mar/06
Glenn u look great in the picture,but mel is taller that you,and that is quite a slouch,id say 174.something on the nose.
Chris said on 1/Mar/06
I read a biography about Mel, don
Mr. R said on 21/Feb/06
I was bored again the other night, and stayed up to watch Air America the other night. For usre, Mel is taller than Robert Downey, but I think Downey is 5-8 tops, and that makes Mel about 5-9 tops.
Frank P said on 17/Feb/06
In my post below, when Dan Hersey mentioned Mels height, his point was that Dana himself was surprised at how short Mel was in person. Dana thought he would've been taller.
TheMan said on 17/Feb/06
Lol yeah stallone no one on earth can beat that guy. I mean some people probably think he's 6,5 or something.
Glenn said on 15/Feb/06
your right Viper.my mistake.he was always the king.but Gibson was king for bit because he lied by saying he was 5-11,when he might be 5-7.but you are right.
Steven said on 15/Feb/06
Looks to be the US male average to me (around 5'9'').
Viper652 said on 13/Feb/06
Glenn, when you said Gibson was the king of heights, Id have to give it to Stallone. Stallone has been estimated from anywhere between 5-5 and 6-2. Now he is the king.
Viper652 said on 13/Feb/06
Actually Mel looks no taller then 5-8.5 in most movies to me.
Brett said on 12/Feb/06
Rob I assume then that his current listed height is overstated judging by what Glenn said and by the pic?
Glenn said on 4/Feb/06
wow frank.thats crazy.
Jr. Twix said on 4/Feb/06
I don't get it, how come Mel looks 5'10 in movies yet everyone is saying he's between 5'7 - 5'9. That baffles me.
Frank P said on 4/Feb/06
Dana Hersey, a talk show host and radio personality in the Boston area has had many radio talk shows and TV programs. He had a show for awhile called the Movie Loft. They showed movies and occasionally, the celebrity in the movie would be on there to chat about the film. Now, Dana is 5"10 and I've met him so this is accurate. He says the thing that struck him the most when meeting Mel was his shortness. He said that off camera, Mel himself makes jokes about his height. When Mel met Nacy Reagan he mused, "Hey finally, someone SHORTER than ME!" Now, when asked how tall he felt Mel was? Dana said "5"7 at the most."
anony said on 27/Jan/06
mel's wax statue at madame tussaud's in london is 5'9"
Glenn said on 20/Jan/06
is there anyone who taped this for our veiwing pleasure? I thought the whole point was parkinson was 5-11?
Gotxo said on 8/Jan/06
Ok, thnx glenn, i'm very willful to pin down his height because he's one of the most dodgey ones. He normally looks 5'11", he denied to be 5'8" when the bond chart was out maybe his height lies between...i'm waiting for your pics!!
Glenn said on 8/Jan/06
yes,but he is wearing cowboy boots.in the better pic Im sending,you will see the top of his an inch or 2 taller than me.I remember sizing him up.he was 5-11 in boots.so,5-8,5-9 without.
Gotxo said on 7/Jan/06
Glenn the pic is not bad, but Gibson is bowing a bit and i can guess his height.
Where should you put it at? Correct me if i'm wrong but he seems a lil taller than you, maybe 175cm?
Glenn said on 7/Jan/06
Im sending another of the same soon.with heads.
Stiffelio said on 1/Jan/06
This is not a great picture to size up Mel as he appears to be at a closer range than Glenn. And then your heads are chopped off!
Sgt Pepper said on 27/Dec/05
that man is no more than 5 foot 8, when i was in Cannes this summer, i out of curiosity compared my hands to mel gibsons hand imprints, and me a 15 year old male of 5 foot 9 had much larger hands(his finger tips came up only to my last knuckle), his hands where smaller than Jane Fonda's!
Marc said on 18/Dec/05
I stood next to his wax statue, and he is probably about 5'9" (5' 8" is also a possibility) I'm 5'10", stood next to him, and he was about 2 inches shorter than me (because of his pose) but he was also wearing boots, so he could be even shorter.
Pik said on 18/Dec/05
He does look close to 5'10" on this picture. Unfortunately we can't see his shoes. Rob, what do you think ?
http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=52020186&cdi=0

Editor Rob
he doesn't look under that, but maybe the angle+freeman leaning a tad makes Gibson look taller?
Ann said on 4/Dec/05
If Clive James isn't short why would he describe himself as vertically challenged?
Glenn said on 29/Nov/05
rude he is! he was one of the meanest celebs around.I heard he calmed down some.in 2001 he turned down a guy I know in a wheelchair for an autograph when he signed for dozens a half hour earlier at a david letterman taping cause there were cameras on him,so he had to look nice.anyone find out how tall clive james is?

Editor Rob
james isn't that short...not sure exactly though
Betel said on 29/Nov/05
I would downgrade Mel by an inch. 174cm seems apt taking the witness accounts into consideration. This would make him look short in some instances. He probably would get above 5'9 but shrinks down to 174 by evening. Shoes will make a big difference to him. Jonathon Ross once interviewed him on his show about 15 years ago and made a joke about some tiny thing being a life size replica of Mel in the next show so wasn't bowled over by his height. He was wearing boots that maybe would have got him to 177cm.

There were reports of him being 5'6" which I thought were true when I was in my teens so he was always the subject of comments about his height so it would be unlikely to be as tall as 177.
Gotxo said on 29/Nov/05
I know two guys that met him in the San Sebastian Festival of cinema.
The only remark they made was the cruel behaviour and bad taste coments to the waiters on a "terraza". They despised his attitude (and maybe him too), but they didn't say anything about his height. An average guy i guess.
Ann said on 29/Nov/05
Clive James made a documentray about gibson. clive said he always thought he was vertically challenged til he met mel. How tall is clive james?
Anonymous said on 27/Nov/05
if he was 173 he would have look funny near glover 178 is very possible
MHouillon said on 24/Nov/05
In his MAD MAX-days he WAS 177cm, Mel Gibson is more 176cm, maybe a 175cm now.
Stiffelio said on 19/Nov/05
Clemente, what kind of shoes was Mel wearing during your sighting? And how long was this? Mel's weight hasn't been 165 lbs for at least twenty years now.....I'd add 25 lbs that!
clemente21 said on 18/Nov/05
I stood right next to Mel at a bar in Tokyo, he's almost exactly the same size as me, as far as height/body type. I'd put him at 5'9" (175 cm) and probably around 165 lbs (75 kg).
Hawkeye said on 24/Sep/05
Last night on "Leno", Mel Gibson made a cameo by carrying Tonight show guest Jody Foster onto the stage and over to her chair. Probably because of the unexpected nature of the situation, the camaras pulled back for a good full body shot of Mel and Leno standing within a few feet of each other. Mel was 2 or so inches shorter than Leno, and the camera pull-back provided a good look at Mel's foot wear, which were quite big and clunky looking. Assuming both were wearing normal shoes with 1'2 to 1 inch heels, this ensures that Mel is no more than 5'9. Given the heels I saw on him, I'd say 5'9 is a big stretch. I'm a big Gibson fan, but I just can't believe he's any more than about 5'7.
mcfan said on 4/Sep/05
For a guy of average height, Gibson sure takes a lot of criticism for being short. He very clearly looks 5'9.5 - 5'10. I never saw him as short on the screen. He's pretty stocky which gives an appearance of someone smaller, but he's not small.
Sticks Says Good-bye said on 29/Aug/05
To the man behind Mr. R: wow. You, sir, are good. This was the thread where I first thought something was up with Mr. R. Do they flash a big R on the night sky when a guy's in trouble in a thread? That first exchange we had in this thread made me think, okay, well, maybe he's just really dumb... a really dumb professor... Then Along Came Stiller. That way-late-but-timely post of a 5'7" Stiller deserved more attention and you were right to pick up on the sarcasm, but who wants to get into that stuff? Regardless of what I thought of Rob or others, I thought you might be real. But even a social science prof has to talk sense about stats and you were out of room. I have so little respect for social science I actually bought "social scientist's emphasis on variance"- not as coherent, but as plausibly coherent to you. When I found out how tall Stiller was and calculated the number of deviations from your "sighting" (which was sloppily "at a distance" before they passed by you in the street) then I couldn't see it another way. You have a fascinating job! It would be interesting to have seen all of this through your eyes. I wish guys like you could actually write tell-all books. It wouldn't matter though. As you know, no one would believe them. ;) I had no idea this would be so educational. Take care.
TheMan said on 27/Aug/05
I actually do belive Gibson to be very short about 5,7 max he's probably actually less. Ive watched movies with him in and almost everybody is taller than him suggesting of course he's height is under average and he is IMO.
Mr. R said on 23/Aug/05
Sticks, just to be clear - I do not suggest that we ignore reported sightings, just that we are willing to critique them in context. Someone who reports Mel Gibson as short may do so because: 1) He is shorter than expected, 2) He forgot his lifts that day, 3) They may be across the room an estimating from a distance (I have been guilty of this), 4)or because HE REALLY IS SHORT! I cannot deny the possibility of the 5-6 sightings, especially because I constantly report my encounters with celebs, and most of them are much shorter than the public thinks. But I also just cannot accept what some folks say at face value, wihtout critique, as I now accept people will do with my reported sightings. Also, as you know as a physical scientist, 10 people is not a good representative sample for scientific research. It could definitely point towards a certain result, but more research is needed to confirm the hypothesis. With that, I call a truce.
CelebHeights Editor said on 23/Aug/05
From gossip newsgroup: "There's no way Mel Gibson is 5'11. I stood next to him at an awards show back in 1996 and he was barely the same height as me and I'm 5'7"
CelebHeights Editor said on 23/Aug/05
From gossip newsgroup: "Mel Gibson had boots with heels on the time I saw him - he's 5'6"-5'7" max"
CelebHeights Editor said on 22/Aug/05
From gossip newsgroup (there's a quote by the same person saying she met Duchovny who was 'at least five inches taller than her') - "As far as Mel well i'm five eight and he didn't look any taller then me."
CelebHeights Editor said on 21/Aug/05
From Las Vegas Review Journal, talking about the Tussaud waxworks in 1999 - "A rugged Mel Gibson is several inches taller than the real deal, ditto Pitt and Stallone"
Sticks said on 20/Aug/05
Mr. R, since most actors are supposed to be taller than they actually are, your theory would predict that all action stars of average height would have the same estimated height range. That isn't happening, even with Stallone. These people are saying he's shorter than they are, which isn't a judgement about their expectations, but a judgement about their relative heights. Your theory predicts stuff we don't see. Where are the other 5'5" action stars?

Here's another consequence of the way you're treating the evidence here. If a dozen people have him at a lifted average of 5'7" and you ignore that because of your social science emphasis on variance, that means that every sighting you've ever offered is worth about 1/12th of nothing. That is, if twelve sightings don't compel you to draw a new conclusion about someone you've never seen, then nothing you say about how tall anyone is should be of any consequence. Similarly, you could never argue someone's height was x and not y because of four sightings that suggested he was closer to x. If you don't have a consistent means of evaluating evidence then you're really just using your intuition, which is fine, but not interesting. Sightings are the best form of evidence we have because you're comparing a known (height of the estimator) with the unknown height. All other evidence is worse because it involves at least two unknowns (e.g., Ben's taller than Jerry, therefore Ben's x) or a much larger unknown (e.g., the accuracy of the star's self-reported height). So if sightings don't mean anything to you then what does evidence matter at all?

This is much more like a physical sciences issue than it is like a social sciences issue. It's a simple measurement of an *objective quantity*, a guy's standing height in shoes, using a crudely calibrated tool. If you look at the Nash and Iverson sightings, they're in tight groupings of less than 2". Why? Because people are decent at estimating height and those guys probably don't use big lifts. Basketball players are supposed to be huge, so why don't people report Nash is 5'5"? You've offered a theory as to how all of those people could be wrong, but I think it's more likely that people would mistrust their eyes and over-estimate a height because of confirmation bias. In the end it doesn't matter, either you use the evidence consistently or you don't. And consistency is important in the social and physical sciences.
J. said on 20/Aug/05
Mr. R, I believe ya but I don't know, man ... everyone always talks about how short Mel Gibson is in real life. And they're usally FANS of his. So, it's not like they just jealous ****s who are trying to tamper his 'macho' image by pretending that he's a munchkin! ;-) 5'9.75" is way too high but I don't rule out that he's as short as say, 5'6". He's a big time lift-wearer so it's extremely feasible.
Sticks said on 19/Aug/05
Rob, notice that when he made a joke about Michael J. Fox's height, he was at least a foot away from anything plausible. Fox's supposed to be 5'4". Call him 3'9", that's absurd, ha-ha. Stiller did the same thing: Q. How tall are you really? A. 6'4". (That's absurd! ha-ha!) Then, with a pained expression, "5'3".


Compare that with:
-Stiller claiming to be a height that people actually estimate him to be when they see him
-Jude Law, who complains that people always say he's really short, claiming to be a height two inches below his listed height
-this Washington Post bureau chief saying Gibson's right within two inches of dozens of estimates of the guy's height. The 3 foot 9 tells you how he'd exaggerate if he was making a joke. Do you think he was joking about how the females sometimes appear up close and personal? 5'4" wasn't a joke. 3'9" was.
Mr. R said on 19/Aug/05
Sticks, I think I have it now. My social science background examines ambiguity and variance, while your physical sciences background emphasizes absolutes based upon sensorial and measurable facts. These are two different way of approaching the world. When it comes to celebs and height, I think that there are a variety of factors which influence perception. Mel Gibson is a great example. We know he is shorter than he claims (oral history), we have eyewitness accounts, we have photos, and we have unrealized expectations. In other words, if we meet someone like Gibson, who we perceive to be a macho action star, and he is only 5-9, the expectation could lead to the conclusion that he is short, even though it is average. If we believe someone to be 5-7, and they are 5-10, we may perceive them as tall, even though this is also average. I have had many encounters with celebs and reported my perceptions of their heights, and many people have disagreed. At first I was offended, and then it became a challenge. Your use of averages and eyewitness accounts has validity, but as a social scientist, I see too many variables.
CelebHeights Editor said on 19/Aug/05
From a 1999 message on gossip newsgroup: "Mel Gibson - Shorter than most people think.....but better looking as well."
CelebHeights Editor said on 19/Aug/05
The following was from an old MovieLine, but I'm not sure which 'couple' it was referring to. It ain't Redford though ;)

"It was a smart move for that older megastar to agree to share the screen with that much younger and hotter actor in that big action flick. What wasn't smart, though, is that the old coot was too lazy to meet face-to-face with the whippersnapper before he signed on the dotted line. When the two finally made contact, in rehearsals, the vet was blown away by the young hunk's height - he was a foot taller than he had expected. That's why there are no full-body shots of the two stars in the whole film-- the vintage sex symbol wore super-high platforms whenever he had a scene with his costar."

Mel Gibson/Heath Ledger in 'The Patriot'
Sylvester Stallone/Kip Pardue in 'Driven'
Mel Gibson/Marc Blucas in "We Were Soldiers"
Al Pacino/Ben Affleck (6'3) in "Gigli"
Bruce Willis/Colin Farrell in "Hart's War"
Sticks said on 18/Aug/05
Mr. R, if 3-4" lifts made him taller than her then why did they need boxes? (Small point, but, back on June 23, I said something that presumed that you knew he'd been on boxes and lifts and you seemed to deny that you knew anything about boxes in the response, so I apologized for the presumption. But if you knew about the reports of the boxes, why did you make an issue of it in your response?) If you're using boxes, you're constrained to not shooting the feet, so if you can get away with footwear alone, why not? Thick-soled boots with lifts could get him more than enough height and wouldn't be so difficult to shoot. In any case, the use of boxes makes 5'5.5" plausible, and makes average height, from my perspective, unlikely.

But the boxes didn't convince me. The people shocked by how "very, very short" and "scrawny" he is convinced me. Men of average height are taller than approximately 3/4 of all adults. They aren't "very, very short". One person might say something stupid and false about an actor of average height, but we're talking about over a half-dozen people saying the same thing. My background is in the physical sciences where it is foundational knowledge that averaging observed measurements decreases random errors and yields what is called "the most probable value" for that quantity. I have no reason to believe that people are so bad at determining the heights of those with normal height that an average doesn't yield a useful quantity, in this case, the upper bound for the celebrity's true height. We could quibble about statistical significance, but I could bury this guy in 5'5"-5'7" sightings if I wanted to. I don't even look for them and I keep stumbling over them. I don't post them all. I can accept that in some cases the average of sightings might mislead you due to chance or dishonesty, but if there's any reason to doubt that the average represents what it should, I'm confident that this guy's around 5'5". Life so often fits nicely into numerical systems and averages we use those things to understand our world to great effect in both the physical and social sciences.
Mr. R said on 17/Aug/05
Actually Sticks, for the Year of Living Dangerously, they used both boxes anmd built up shoes to make Gibson look taller. There are many reports from the stars themselves on this. Also, the goal wasn't to make Gibson her size, it was to make him taller, therefore even at 5-9.5 he would have to have at least 3 inch lifts to make him taller, which is plausible. As to the range of estimates, me being a social scientist, I know that that numbers only represent relative relationship, not absolute. Therefore, I don't discount rational numerical delivery, but I engage it within the context of variance. Life rarely fits into neat numerical systems or averages.
Sticks said on 16/Aug/05
Mr. R, Bill said that Sigourney Weaver confirmed that he had to stand on boxes for some scenes (June 22), so my view definitely doesn't involve any claims about the size of his lifts in that movie. In fact, part of the reason I originally wrote to you on this was that I didn't understand why you would think he would need special shoes to appear 6' if he was only 2.5" under it. He wouldn't have to be 6' to play 6' and the lifts that would be required to get him to 5'11-ish or even 6' are nothing impressive by Hollywood standards. In any case, I don't know how tall he actually stood and, if there were boxes, as Weaver apparently said, it doesn't matter.

Regarding the range of sightings, if you see a range of height estimates based on sightings, any rational analysis says that the lower half of the range is more credible. That's because of the widespread use of lifts and the lies spread around the internet and main stream press by publicists. The average of sightings represents an upper bound for the actor's real height. If I'm wrong about that, why?

You're wrong about the group's opinion where something like the estimation of an observed quantity is concerned. If you had a group of people estimate the height of an individual and took the average of those estimates, the average of the estimates would be closer to the true value than the average individual's estimate. That's because the different measurements reduce the effect of random errors. I didn't even occur to me that you would doubt the value of averaging measurements to increase accuracy. I've never heard it disputed. Because your estimate ignored the same kind of evidence you regularly provide, I got suspicious. I'm suspicious these days.
sam said on 16/Aug/05
Well, if you check this site, Ricardo, Sinise is 5'9 1/2", not 5'8". I'd go with Rob's measurements for Sinise and Gibson.
CelebHeights Editor said on 14/Aug/05
From a 'TheStar.com' article, "We believe the 5 foot 8 entry. Way back in 1983 when Gibson was in Toronto shooting Mrs. Soffel, we were hanging out in a dark downtown alleyway in the whee! hours, waiting for a freight elevator to take us up to the booze can du nuit, when a scrappy, short guy told us to keep quiet or we'd get busted. Where did this small fry get off telling us to shut up? "Ssssh. It's Mel Gibson!" someone said. We shut up. No way were we going to grapple with Mad Max. And no way was he 5 foot 11. We were looking down on his scalp during the entire ride on the freight elevator."
Anonymous said on 6/Aug/05
I don't think that lineup looks very accurate to begin with because if Rene Russo stands straight up she probably breaks the 6ft mark. I doubt she's wearing 4.5 inch heels.
leonari said on 6/Aug/05
ROB I told so often you the guy is short , but nobody believed me...He is 5'7" max 5'8(on a very very good day) but for sure not taller.
CelebHeights Editor said on 6/Aug/05
Saw this interesting quote on another message board: "Hard to tell from TV, of course (Mel Gibson looks huge in Braveheart...I stood next to him while he was filming What Women Want, and he's almost tiny...he has 3" lift shoes for some scenes)". The same guy mentioned in another thread, "I've already mentioned my Mel Gibson lift shoes in the other thread...I'm 5'10" on a good day. He's a few inches shorter than me...hard to say, 'cause his hair is a little poofy. But the thing that really struck me was how narrow his shoulders were"
John said on 1/Aug/05
Barry Norman, who is around 6', described Mel as "between 5'8 and 5'9".
McFan said on 8/Jul/05
He's 1.5-2 inches taller than Joaquin Phoenix is in "Signs." Would that make him then 5'9.5-5'10. He looks average.
Bill said on 6/Jul/05
He once had an argument with Barry Norman (a uk Film Reviewer who is taller then Mel)about who was the tallest so its something he does quite often.
Danjo said on 5/Jul/05
in an interview in a 1985 magazine he said that his bio listed him as 5'10 but the "bare footed truth" was that he was 5'8" tall. That was from him.
Sticks said on 29/Jun/05
Okay, Mr. R, we'll leave it at that. I want to clarify one point. You said that someone could choose to believe any anecdote. Please understand that I think believing one story and ignoring all of the other similarly credible reports is irrational. I'm saying the sensible thing is to take the trimmed average (middle 80%, say) of credible sightings. As the number of sightings got large, there would probably be two peaks, one at the lifted height and one at the height in normal shoes. In any case, please keep your eyes peeled for this guy.
Mr. R said on 28/Jun/05
Well Sticks, we will have to agree to disagree. I've been seeing anecdotal evidence on Gibson for years, calling him everything from 5'4" to 5'11" - such as the Parkinson interview Rob has listed on this website. One can choose any of these stories to believe. Do I believe that Mel is his listed 5-10? No. Does he lie and use heels and lifts? Yes. Do I believe that personal encounters are influenced by individuals' and their own perceptions? Yes. Do I believe this happens with Mel Gibson? Yes. Do I believe this happens with many other celebs? Yes. The fact is, on this site, you have anecdotes which put Arnold at 5'6", and Britney at 5'7", and other stuff? Rob has said that he gets crazy stuff soemtimes that he doesn't even print, and he gets it a lot! I appreciate your points, but I think that we have gone as far as we can with this one.
Mr. R said on 27/Jun/05
Okay Sticks, since Mel did Road Warrior, I have been hearing him described as short, about 5'8" or 5'9", so there is a lot of anecdotal evidence which supports my contention. Many people consider this short for men, especially male celebrities, which is why they are such good customers for the big shoe guys. Many male celebrities have been called short - Robert Redford (5-10), Paul Newman (5-9), etc., who are actually of average height, so I do think that expectation and height size are relativized. Certainly, I believe that folks lie all the time, after all, I live in Hollywood myself, and lying is an artform here. However, I think that "confirmation bias" is only one psychological form to choose. I think that "cognitive dissonance" is better. When people are confronted with something different than what they expected, it can be resolved in numerous ways. In this case, I think that some folks when they meet celebs, round down to resolve their dis-ease.
sticks said on 27/Jun/05
Mr. R, where are you seeing these sightings that average from 5'8" - 5'10"? The only sightings I found mentioned that he was short:
This guy "PJ" says he was 5'5":
http://chat.thevalkyrie.com/clubhouse/oldchat/log-98-12-17.htm

"most actors I find are very short......i saw mel gibson once in LA and he was about 5ft 5inches.....looked like a "little person"

This guy points out that MG was shorter than 5'9":
http://nwawrestling.com/nwanews/index.php?p=98

The references to sightings on this page - there are now 6 - all involve MG 5'8" or less. Two have him under 5'6" and two say "very, very short". So far, the anecdotal evidence clearly suggests he's not average but short.

Your explanation of the strange tendency for people to underestimate MG's height doesn't work for Jude Law who's roles aren't tough guy roles and he's regularly referred to as short when people see him. Are people right about Law then? A more plausible theory is that some people attempt to lie their way to an extra couple of inches and others try to lie their way to an extra five. The larger-than-life theory is now so ad hoc that it's hard to understand. It's no longer that stars are larger than life and our disappointed expectations lead us to consistently underestimate their height. Now it doesn't work for the tall or the short or the average unless they're male action stars. What's more, 'confirmation bias', an established psychological phenomenon, would tend to skew height estimates of supposedly-tall-stars to the tall side, e.g., I think MG's tall because of some movie, then I see him shorter, but resist the view that my understanding was wrong and overestimate his height as a result. The difference between Hawke and Gibson is that Gibson's telling a bigger lie about his height.
Mr. R said on 26/Jun/05
Sticks, I do think that tallness and shortness are relative when it comes to celebrities. Using your examples of Ethan Hawke and Mel Gibson, Ethan comes across at average partially because of the roles he plays. I've met him and he is between 5-10 and 5-11. But Mel Gibson plays a lot of macho and hypermasculine roles, and we want our macho men to be taller than average. When people meet Mel, and he isn't above average, they tend to call him short beacuse he is not the tall macho man. He has been called everything from 5-5 to 5-11, which is a pretty good range. Most sightings peg him from 5-8 to 5-10, which seems close to truth. In the US, 5-9 is average, and he falls into this category.
sticks said on 25/Jun/05
Mr. R, I said I was sure you'd give us an honest assessment of MG's height if you saw him. But if you're a reasonable judge of celebrity heights, why aren't others? On this page there are only four references to eyewitness accounts of MG's height; two "very, very short", one 5'5"-5'5.5" and one 5'8". I'd say those estimates centre on something between 5'5" and 5'7" and MG could have been in lifts in some or all of those cases. Why isn't that information as good as 4 Mr. R's offering their opinions from different encounters?

Short of measuring these guys, the best way to get at the truth would be to determine a trimmed average of actual sightings. At some point publicists will flood the web with bs sightings of "a surprisingly tall and svelte Tobey MacGuire" but the average of legitimate guesses would be a very good upper bound (because of lifts). Where are the I-met-Mel-and-he's-6' sightings? There's a reason they don't exist.
Anonymous said on 25/Jun/05
From http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/03_march/01/parkinsonmelgibson.shtml

In a one-hour special of Parkinson movie star and Hollywood heartthrob Mel Gibson reveals to Michael Parkinson what it
Hawkeye said on 24/Jun/05
A friend of mine, whose opinion I trust and whom is not prone toward BS, met Mr. Gibson through his sister, who worked for one of the studios in Hollywood. He said that Mel was very pleasant, but he was very surprised at his height. My friend stands a solid 5'8, and insists that Mel had to be 2.5 to 3 inches shorter then he.
Mr. R said on 24/Jun/05
Actually sticks, I said that they made special shoes for him to give him extra height over Sigourney Weaver. If he is just over 5-9, and she is just about 6 foot, then special shoes would be required to make him almost 6-1. I said nothing about boxes. As to the short and average issue, I disagree with you. We expect our celebrities to be larger than life, so if they are average by a normal person's standards, they are short by celebrity standards. If Mel Gibson is between 5-9 and 5-10, he is of average height. But since he is a celebrity, we expect him to be taller than average, so therefore people would see him as short. As to our dear editor, I agree that he sometimes seems to be on the take....especially when he disagrees with me!
leonari said on 23/Jun/05
See Rob...I told you...More and more people saying that Gibson is short...and 177 cm or almost 5'10 is not short by any means...That's above average!!! I have seen a different episode of Parkinson. He never asked him to stand up. Parky said: You're not very tall ...and Gibson answered: 5'6- 5'7" Mel didn't stand up , he just tok off one shoe and showed it to the audienc., while smilingand saying: See NO LIFTS!! And went on to comment that he was very shy with girls when he was you etc...I think he is 5'7" or abit above maybe 5'7.5 on agood day, well proportioned, well built. Many people don't know they're exact height but with 5'9.5 you are way of track and I will get my hand one day on that Parkinson episode and send it to you!!!. Further on "Bird on a wire" with Goldie Hawn is also excellent evidence! He runs around barefeet for a bit and never ever looks 10 cm taller than 5'6 Goldie. Plus back in the day he had this wild haircut so he must tower over Goldie if he would be almost 5'10"...Don't you agree?????? Mel is the trickiest guy!!!! and one of eht coolest best looking actors of all time<
Gotxo said on 22/Jun/05
If he had to stand in a box to be taller than Sigourney (you've her @ 5'11 here) he's less than 177cm.
Plus he's towered in "The Patriot" film by Heath Ledger, He seems to be at least 4" smaller rather than 8cm only.
Mr. R said on 21/Jun/05
It is very well known that Mel had to waer special shoes to play opposite Sigourney Weaver in The Year of Living Dangerously. I have heard that they were three to four inches to mkae him 6 foot tall. I think that Mel is less than 5-10, but more than 5-9.
Ricardo said on 21/Jun/05
I heard somewhere, can't remember where that Mel is actually 5'6" but that just souns too weird but it just makes you wonder how tall he is when people are insisting 5'8", some 5'6" one thing is for sure, most people who see him face to face find him on the short side, i doubt he is 5'10" maybe around 5'8".
sam said on 31/May/05
In a newspaper article a while ago, Gibson cited himself as 5'10" even. This height seems fairly accurate.
Issheuhboy said on 16/May/05
Have you seen pics of Julia Roberts and Mel together? She always wears big heels, but his height goes up and down in completely illogical ways against that! Still, he smokes cigars, and his full first name really is Mel. Respect.
leonari said on 12/May/05
I agree with the oracle! Watch goldie and Mel in bird on a wire...He is barely taller than Goldie Hawn who is for sure 5'6... If he would be 3.5 inches taller he would tower over her which just isn't the case....The guy is 5'7" period...
Chris said on 24/Apr/05
I agree with The Oracle. I thought about that aswell, Mel looks short in that movie. He is not near 5.10
The Oracle said on 23/Apr/05
Watch the movie "Bird on a Wire" with Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson.
There you can see how small he is in reality compared to Goldie's frame. Goldie is 5ft 6, Mel cant be anywhere more than 5ft 7.
Ricardo said on 11/Mar/05
Maybe Downey was wearing special shoes for the npolice pic, or Mel was wearing special shoes in air america, becaue he is 5 feet 8 inches. u have the proof, just look at the pic with mel and sly, if sly is about 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8 inches then Gibson is about the same height, no???

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