Mel Gibson on His Ninth Baby: ‘I Think My Adrenals Are Worn Out'

Mel Gibson is back behind the camera, directing the highly anticipated “Hacksaw Ridge,” and "Extra's” Renee Bargh recently sat down with the legendary actor and the film's star Andrew Garfield.

Chatting about becoming a father for the ninth time — Mel and his 26-year-old girlfriend Rosalind Ross are expecting a baby early next year — Mel smiled, “Oh, sure, just one more.” He joked, “I'm just there to catch.” The 60-year-old pointed out that he is too old to get nervous about being a dad again, saying, “I think my adrenals are worn out so I don't even react anymore.”

Baby news aside, there is already Oscar buzz about “Hacksaw Ridge,” which is based on the true story of PFC. Desmond T. Doss, who won a Congressional Medal of Honor after refusing to bear arms during World War II for religious reasons. Andrew commented, “However we can get Desmond's story to as many people as possible… if those kinds of things help that, then that's great.”

Though Mel turned down the film twice, he was intrigued by Desmond's story. As for what made him finally say yes to directing to the movie, he revealed, “The last time it was offered, I read it and it went straight from… it went straight through the chest cavity into my brain, so it was like a very emotional, very moving story, you know? There's tears on the pages, so I thought this is a story worth telling about this guy who's so incredible.”

He added, “[Desmond] transcends the ugliness of war in a situation that turns most men into animals… he gets to hone his higher self and do something really beautiful in the midst of that which is life-affirming.”