Less than two weeks after the Oscars were held on the other side of town the Academy Award winning producer, director and actor found himself in the less glittering surroundings of the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse.
For a man who has two golden statuettes at home, and who used to command a stratospheric salary of $25 million (£15.5 million) per movie, the moment marked a new low in one of the most precipitous falls from grace in Hollywood history.
After he was sentenced to three years probation, a year of counselling, and 16 hours community service, critics were quick to sound the death knell for Gibson's once golden movie career.
One publicist described the idea of casting him in any future major film as "radioactive."
When the Braveheart star arrived at the court, a glass fronted tower block in the shadow of LAX , driving his own white SUV, there were no fans or autograph hunters to greet him, just a phalanx of photographers looking for signs of remorse on his face.