Mel Gibson steps out in Cannes for "The Beaver" premiere

(CBS/AP) - Mel Gibson was noticeably absent from the news conference for his movie, "The Beaver," Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, just as he has been noticeably missing from the premieres and press conferences for the movie's U.S. debut.

But for the first time on Tuesday he turned up on the red carpet with pal Jodie Foster for the film's official Cannes evening premiere - and even shared a few wry quips.

While Foster, director and co-star of the darkly comic drama, had predicted earlier in the day that he would not be talking at the premiere, Gibson had a ready answer when a festival interviewer asked him how he got into the dark head space of his character.

"I faked it," Gibson said, before adding, "Hey, I don't know. It doesn't bear too much analysis."

Pictures: Scenes from the 2011 Cannes Film FestivalPictures: Mel Gibson

Gibson has stayed out of the limelight in the months leading up to the U.S. theatrical debut of "The Beaver" on May 6, while Foster has been out publicizing the film and defending her star after his ugly breakup from then girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, who had accused Gibson of striking her. Gibson pleaded no contest and has been sentenced to three years probation for the incident.

As Foster was editing "The Beaver" last year, recordings surfaced of disturbing arguments riddled with sexist and racist comments that purportedly occurred between Gibson and Grigorieva.

"I can't excuse Mel's behavior. Only he can explain that," Foster told reporters at Cannes. "But I do know the man that I know. He's been a friend for many, many years, and as a friend, he is kind and loyal and thoughtful, and I can spend hours on the phone with him talking about life. And he's complex, and I appreciate his complexity and what his complexity brings to his work."

Gibson stars in the film as a suicidal, depressed husband and father who tries to sort through his problems with an unlikely therapist, a beaver puppet through which he communicates with his wife (Foster), their two sons and his colleagues at the failing toy company he runs.

The puppet initially rejuvenates his home life and business, but it gradually turns into a dangerous alter-ego that forces Gibson's character to an even darker place.

Critics have praised the performance as one of the best of Gibson's career, some viewing it as almost an on-screen therapy session for the actor to work on his own troubled life.

"The Beaver" was shot before the blowup over his relationship with Grigorieva, which further eroded Gibson's reputation in Hollywood,  first tarnished by an anti-Semitic rant during a drunken-driving arrest in 2006.

Foster said she did not know whether the film might help restore Gibson's tarnished reputation, but it does offer a glimpse of his soul.

"Anything that you do that you obsess about and think about and give that much to, for six months of your life in his case and for years in mine, allows you to look deeper at yourself and at the people around you, at the effect of what you do, and that has to have kind of a therapeutic, cathartic end," said Foster, friends with Gibson since they costarred in 1994's "Maverick."

"I think he's proud of what he's shown, and I think he wants people to see that side of him. And he's an incredibly private man, so what he shows on the screen is as deep as you could possibly get, and that's our way as actors of telling people, 'This is who I really am."'