Mel Gibson’s son Milo among cast joining Hacksaw Ridge

Mel Gibson’s son Milo has joined major Australian actors in his father’s war drama Hacksaw Ridge.

Actors L-R Robert Morgan, Vince Vaughn, Nico Cortez, Daniel Thomlinson, Goran Kleut, Luke Pegler, Milo Gibson, (extra), Harry Greenwood, Firass Dirani, Richard Pyros, Luke Bracey, Andrew Garfield, Jacob Warner and Sam Worthington during a scene from director Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, currently filming in New South Wales (pic: Mark Rogers).

Mel Gibson’s son Milo has joined a number of major Australian actors in Gibson’s war drama Hacksaw Ridge, currently filming in New South Wales.

Australian stars Sam Worthington, Rachel Griffiths, Teresa Palmer, Richard Roxburgh and Luke Bracey have been confirmed in the cast joining The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn.

It is the first screen credit for Milo Gibson, who will be joined by Hugo Weaving’s son, and star of the TV miniseries Gallipoli, Harry Greenwood, Wonderland’s Ben Mingay, House Husband’s Firass Dirani, and Underbelly’s Luke Peglar. Also joining the cast are Richard Pyros, Nico Cortez, Michael Sheasby, Goran Kleut, Jacob Warner, Damien Thomlinson, Ben O’Toole, Benedict Hardie, Robert Morgan, Ori Pfeffer and Nathaniel Buzolic.

“While production has only just begun, there is already incredible camaraderie between the cast” said director Mel Gibson in a statement released with the pictures from the set.

“Not only is Andrew perfect for the role of Desmond Doss, the entire cast are an incredible mix of experience, depth and exciting up and coming talent.”

Hacksaw Ridge is Gibson’s first directing gig since his Academy Award-nominated Apocalypto. He won the Oscar as best director for Braveheart, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, before he directed the smash hit The Passion of the Christ.

A number of key Australian crew have joined the production, including the Academy Award-winning costume designer of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Lizzy Gardiner, The Great Gatsby’s casting director Nikki Barrett and Alex Proyas’s New Zealand-born cinematographer Simon Duggan.

The Water Diviner’s Andrew Knight has co-written the screenplay with Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan and Braveheart’s Randall Wallace. The Passion of the Christ’s John Debney is composing the score.

Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of conscientious objector Desmond Doss (Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing a gun. He was the first conscientious objector to ever win the Congressional Medal of Honour.

“I worked with Mel 20 years ago on Braveheart and this is the first film I thought not only worthy of him but perfect for him.” said producer Bill Mechanic. “Desmond Doss is as unique a hero as William Wallace and there is no better director to bring the story to life than Mel. It’s taken seemingly forever to mount the film properly, but we now have an amazing cast, a script that resonates, and the ideal director, so couldn’t be more excited now that we’re underway.”