"But taking risks for what you believe in, regardless of what you believe in, is really overrated."

Still beats the hell out of waffling when what you believe in seems like too big a risk. There's a lot more of that than the other.

Can't say what percentage of Mel's fortune is tied up in this movie, but it was a risk. Anyone remember how Sam Clemens bankrupted himself investing in typesetting equipment other other nonsense? I doubt Mel would have missed many meals, but he wouldn't have been their first celebrity to lose everything they own and have to start over. And you can't judge a risk by the fact that it appears to have paid off. That has nothing to do with what it was like to have to make the decision and have to live through all it's consequences before it paid off.