Which actor plays Max Rockatansky in the 1979 film "Mad Max"?

Mel Gibson plays Max Rockatansky in the 1979 film "Mad Max." The role made Gibson an international star and launched one of cinema’s most influential action franchises.

Max begins the film as a highway patrol officer with Australia’s Main Force Patrol, working in a society threatened by fuel shortages, lawlessness, and social collapse. He is one of the force’s best officers but fears that constant violence is turning him into the same kind of person as the criminals he pursues.

After a biker gang led by Toecutter kills Max’s partner Goose and later attacks Max’s family, Max abandons ordinary police work. He takes the MFP’s powerful Pursuit Special, often called the V8 Interceptor, and hunts down the gang members responsible for destroying his life.

Gibson returned as Max in Mad Max 2 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. A common mix-up comes from later entries: Tom Hardy plays Max in Mad Max: Fury Road, while Gibson remains the actor associated with the original trilogy.