Mel Gibson praises ‘kind’ Robert Downey Jr. for defending him when he was ‘poster boy for canceled’

He had a brave heart.

Mel Gibson is forever grateful for his “Air America” co-star Robert Downey Jr. after the Oscar winner defended him following his 2006 arrest in Malibu.

“One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career,” Gibson, 68, said in a profile of Downey Jr., 59, in Esquire.

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“I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid s – – t, and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I’m the poster boy for canceled.”

Gibson’s statement refers to his headline-making arrest in 2006 when — according to the police report — the actor unleashed a barrage of antisemitic remarks after being pulled over by police on suspicion of driving under the influence.

“F – – king Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?” the “What Women Want” star reportedly asked County Sheriff Deputy James Mee at the time.

Mee added that the filmmaker “almost continually threatened me, saying he ‘owns Malibu’ and will spend all of his money to ‘get even’ with me.”

Shortly after the incident, Gibson issued an apology.

“There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of antisemitic remark,” he said.

“I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.”

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In the profile, the “Passion of the Christ” filmmaker revealed the “Iron Man” star helped him get back on his feet.

“A couple of years into that he invited me to some kind of award he was getting,” Gibson recalled. “We always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off.”

According to Gibson, he was “pretty much nonexistent in Hollywood at the time.”

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“He stood up and spoke for me,” the “Patriot” star reminisced. “It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that.”

Downey Jr. later thanked his longtime friend in his speech at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards.

“I asked Mel to present this award for me for a reason,” he said. “When I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope and encouraged me to find my faith.

“It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s, as long as it was rooted in forgiveness,” the “Tropic Thunder” alum stated. “And I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me in the lead of a movie that was actually developed for him.”

In his speech, the “Oppenheimer” star stated that all Gibson ever asked in return “was that someday I help the next guy in some small way.”

“It’s reasonable to assume at the time he didn’t imagine the next guy would be him or that someday was tonight,” he joked, shortly before calling on the audience to forgive Gibson of his “trespasses and offering him the same clean slate you have me.”

During his SAG Awards acceptance speech for outstanding performance in a supporting role, Downey Jr. included Gibson with several other high-profile actors who, according to the “Chaplin” star, had taught him “so much.”