Actor cum director Mel Gibson snared the 53rd Golden Globe Sunday award for best director for his Scottish epic Braveheart much of which was filmed in Ireland. At the podium in Los Angeles, Gibson began his long list of thanks with "the people of England, Ireland and Scotland and the little green people who used to visit me at night."
Gibson had been acting in front of the camera for 20 years when he "got the bug" several years ago to direct, he said, crediting the script for catapulting him into the best director category.