Martin Riggs

Martin Riggs is a fictional character from the Lethal Weapon film series created by Shane Black. Riggs was originally played by actor Mel Gibson in all four films from 1987 to 1998, and later by Clayne Crawford in the Fox television series from 2016 to 2018. Originally a member of the Los Angeles Police Department's Narcotics Division, upon being reassigned to the Homicide Division, Riggs is partnered up with straight-laced sergeant Roger Murtaugh. Riggs and Murtaugh remain partners and best friends throughout the film series. Career Military career Martin Riggs joined the U.S. Army at age 19, eventually becoming a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, receiving specialized training in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. These skills would later serve him well when he became a police officer. Most of Riggs' time in special forces was in Vietnam, where he served as an assassin under the CIA's "Phoenix Project". The first time he killed is never mentioned, but he mentions he shot a man with a sniper rifle from a long distance (1000 yards) in Laos; while his ability as a trained killer would later affect his mental health, he thought of it as "the only thing I was ever really good at".