Mel Gibson Almost Starred in ‘Schindler’s List’

Steven Spielberg‘s Oskar Schindler almost looked vastly different.

The auteur’s Oscar-winning 1994 film “Schindler’s List” was led by Liam Neeson, who portrayed the real-life German businessman who saved more than 1,200 Jews from the Nazis during World War II. However, according to CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz, Mel Gibson was briefly considered for the title role.

“Mel Gibson’s name came up. He was interested. His agent put him forward,” Ovitz told The Hollywood Reporter in a 30th anniversary retrospective cover story. “But it wasn’t going to happen. Steven wanted a non-movie star for the part.”

At the time, pre-“Braveheart,” Gibson was coming off of three “Lethal Weapon” movies.

There were others considered — Neeson recounted in the oral history hearing Harrison Ford and Kevin Costner as well — though Spielberg was personally not naming names.

“A lot of people were interested in playing Schindler, and a lot of them were movie stars, and to all of them I promised never to divulge any of their history with me, so I’m not saying those names are accurate,” Spielberg told THR. “I’m saying there were a number of people, even more than the names you gave me.”

Actress Caroline Goodall, who played Emilie Schindler in the film, shared that Spielberg “really didn’t want American actors playing these roles, because he felt that European actors had a visceral understanding of the second World…