Mel Gibson praised his longtime friend and ‘Air America’ star Robert Downey Jr. in an interview with Esquire magazine.

Gibson called Downey ‘brave, generous and kind,’ as the latter called on Hollywood to forgive Gibson after his infamous 2006 arrest.

‘Once I got into a bad situation that ended my career,’ Gibson told Esquire.
We have always had this pendulum.

I was practically non-existent in Hollywood at the time, and he protected me. I love him for it.’

Gibson is referring to the 2011 American Cinematheque Awards. Downey was the recipient of the annual arts award, where he used his speech to support Gibson.

Downey noted, ‘if you haven’t sinned, you’ve made the wrong choice and you should consider giving Gibson a second chance.’

The ‘Iron Man’ star knew a things about second chances in Hollywood. He also was rejected by the industry due to a series of legal problems in the late 1990s;

received a three-year suspended sentence. A year later, he was jailed four years after failing a court-ordered drug test;

In 1999 Downey served 15 months, then was arrested again four months after his release for drug possession.