The 54-year-old actor-and-director has reportedly spent 10 days with Australian expert Rick Collingwood, who visited his Los Angeles home and taught him the powers of suggestion and how to put people into a trance. Rick, who is a friend of Mel`s brother Chris, said: "I was heading out to Los Angeles for work so Mel invited me over. I was with him for 10 days teaching him the technique. "Mel`s a natural, he`s got the look as well as piercing blue eyes. He`s going to be a great hypnotist. "Chris talked to Mel about it over the phone and Mel got interested, too." Though the `Braveheart` star took to learning the technique instantly, Rick is unsure if he has any plans to use it. He said: "He is very, very interested in it. He didn`t say he wanted to learn it for a specific reason. He was just curious. "I think he`s just interested in the mind and human nature." The award-winning actor - who took an eight-year hiatus from the profession to direct movies such as `The Passion of the Christ` - recently announced his return to the front of the camera. He said: "I walked away from it after `Signs` because I just felt I was stale and I needed to maybe... it wasn`t ringing my bells. So I focused on directing and writing and producing and all that kind of stuff, and then it was time to come back. "I got the acting bug back because I felt like, all of a sudden, maybe after all these years, I might have something to offer again."