Andrew Garfield defends Mel Gibson, his director on ‘Hacksaw Ridge’

Andrew Garfield supports Mel Gibson, the director of his 2016 movie Hacksaw Ridge.

“He’s done a lot of beautiful healing with himself,” Garfield told PEOPLE in an interview published online Thursday, as part of the magazine’s Movies of My Life series. “And thank God. Because he’s an amazing filmmaker, and I think he deserves to make films. He deserves to tell stories, because he has a very, very big, compassionate heart.”

The actor said he had “deep, important conversations” before working with Gibson, who made anti-Semitic comments during a 2006 arrest for DUI. Garfield, who is Jewish, was convinced.

“I learned a lot, actually,” Garfield said when asked about what he had taken away from the collaboration. “I learned that people can heal. I learned that people can change, that people can get help. I learned that everyone deserves respect. And that people deserve second chances, third chances, fourth chances. That none of us are infallible.”

In the film, the Social Network star portrayed Desmond Doss, a World War II soldier who was a pacifist and refused to carry a gun during his tour of duty. Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, and Teresa Palmer costarred.

“He’s the kind of director,” Garfield said, “that would come from behind the monitors, just with his eyes wet. He knew when it was right and he knew when it wasn’t right. And I just really trusted him. And he’s a visceral storyteller so he can feel… He’s like he can’t help but feel everything. He’s a real empathetic guy.”

The controversial actor and director apologized at the time, noting that there is “no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark.”

Gibson’s latest movie, the thriller Flight Risk, which stars Mark Wahlberg, is set to arrive in theaters in January.

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