"I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised. Nevertheless, I heed the call,” said Gibson in a statement.

President-elect Donald Trump’s naming of Mel Gibson as one of his “special envoys” to Hollywood surprised many, including Gibson himself. Trump on Thursday said Gibson and his fellow pro-Trump actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight would act as his “eyes and ears” in the industry.

President-elect Donald Trump has handed a trio of stars a huge new role as ambassadors tasked with revamping the iconic film industry hub to be "bigger, better, and stronger than ever before".