With a career built on raw authenticity and understated brilliance, Mark Ruffalo has long been one of Hollywood's most compelling actors. Equally at home in indie dramas, as he is in blockbuster spectacles, the 57-year-old has crafted a filmography defined by versatility, emotional depth, and an ability to make even the most complex characters feel deeply human.
Born and raised in Wisconsin before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, Ruffalo's journey to stardom was one of persistence. After years of struggling in smaller roles, he broke through in 2000 with You Can Count on Me, earning critical acclaim for his naturalistic performance. This set the stage for a career that would see him navigate everything from intimate, character-driven films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Foxcatcher (2014) to major mainstream successes, including his beloved portrayal of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ruffalo's dedication to thought-provoking cinema has earned him four Academy Award nominations, most notably for Spotlight (2015), in which he played a relentless investigative journalist uncovering institutional corruption. His ability to embody real-world figures with nuance and intensity was also evident in HBO's I Know This Much Is True (2020), a miniseries that earned him an Emmy for his dual performance as troubled twin brothers.
In 2025, Ruffalo adds another ambitious project to his résumé with Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17, a sci-fi thriller that pairs him with Robert Pattinson. Under the visionary direction of the Parasite filmmaker, Ruffalo once again proves his commitment to storytelling that pushes boundaries, blending spectacle with sharp social commentary.
Away from the film set, Ruffalo is married to former actress Sunrise Coigney. The couple has three children together: Keen (23), Bella (19), and Odette (17).
STRIPLV: This is awkward, Mark Ruffalo stepping into the villain role for Mickey 17. Is this some midlife crisis? RUFFALO: I'd be happy to take the midlife crisis right now as that would cement me in midlife still, so yes, if you want to call it that, we can! I must admit, when Bong Joon-ho first offered me the part of Lenneth Marshall, I was taken aback; playing a villain is not really something I've ever done, as you infer in your question. In fact, my first thought when reading the script was, 'Wait, is this really my character?". But Bong had complete confidence in me, and when someone puts their trust in you, it elevates what you can do to a new level. STRIPLV: Was your approach different from what it would have been if it was a benign character? RUFFALO: Not really, I think you approach characaterisation in very similar ways. Really, you want to get under the skin of who you are playing, and that's that. I guess evil characters generally have a longer and more intense backstory. They are the way they are for a reason. When you are playing the good guy, he's generally not had much in his past of note as he's trodden a solid route. Ultimately, I wanted to bring a real sense of complexity to Lenneth. There are leaders throughout history who, despite being oppressive, somehow manage to captivate and command respect. That was something I really tried to tap into—finding that balance between power, persuasion, and something unsettling beneath the surface. STRIPLV: And your relationship with the director was good. RUFFALO: Incredible. Working with Bong Joon-ho has been a defining experience for me. He has such a strong vision, and the way he crafts his films is unlike anyone else. Getting to collaborate with him, alongside such a talented cast, including Naomi Ackie and Steven Yeun, made the process even more rewarding. We all pushed each other to dig deeper into our characters, and that energy made every moment on set feel electric. I am happy to admit that playing a villain has stretched me as an actor in ways I didn't expect. It forced me to explore sides of human nature that I hadn't really embodied before, and I found that challenge incredibly rewarding. STRIPLV: On the flip side of this, many of your films see you presented as an unwitting ambassador for goodness, and the weeding out of evil, but you stand by those elements in real life. RUFFALO: I find that a much more appropriate use of this space than trashy stuff that goes nowhere, or worse still, actors telling people who to vote for! For a while, I was very interested in the aesthetics behind abuse of power, and that certainly did inform my film choices. Of course, it still goes on today, and we are no closer to solving the problem. There are cover-ups going on every day in every country, but with the rise of social media, the calls for justice and the fact people can get away with less and less are becoming very interesting. It is a cultural and social turning point, potentially. I hope. STRIPLV: You've been quite critical about the church and religion. Where does that come from? RUFFALO: I was raised Catholic. I went to church on Sundays. I was raised with the ideals, sensibilities, and influences of the Catholic Church. But I left it. The inconsistencies, the contradictions, and the teachings of the church conflicted with so much of what I believed in. STRIPLV: Which of your many films is your favorite? RUFFALO: I'm not sure you can have a favorite, but one film I do tend to go back to is You Can Count on Me. That was very special, for the obvious reason of what it meant to me and my career. I was a lot younger and grittier and greener then. I was very passionate; my passion is what carried me when I was younger, and now that I'm getting older, it's my craft that has to carry me. I have to try everything. STRIPLV: We have to talk about World War: Hulk, which is coming up in the future. Could you ever have dreamed that this legacy would continue for as long as it has? RUFFALO: No its longevity will at some point outlast mine! It's always great to return to projects, but better still to those that mean so much and garner so much excitement, even when they're way out on the schedule. STRIPLV: Has it ever been a case where directors have been turned off by your Marvel association, by Bruce Banner? Has it stunted your career at all? RUFFALO: I hope it hasn't but I don't think that will be the case. I mean, all those juicy, nice lead roles that were always just out of my reach have come after playing the Avengers. (Laughs) I don't know if I would have been cast in Begin Again, Foxcatcher, or Spotlight. All those movies came after I played the Hulk, and so obviously it hasn't tainted that yet. But who knows, I hope at the end of the day, it isn't on my gravestone, 'Mark Ruffalo, he played the Hulk. That's all we remember.' STRIPLV: Yet for what you were doing at the time, was it a surprise when Marvel came after you? RUFFALO: Yes, it was; it was leftfield, but then I could see an opening for an actor like me when I saw Robert [Downer Jr] did Iron Man. Joss Whedon really wanted me but the first person I contacted when I learned they were interested in me was Robert. I spent a long time with him just because I had a lot of concerns about whether I could do this. As it turned out, I've never had a performance so badly reviewed even before I shot a single frame. (Laughs) I never knew how badly I would be scrutinized. Had I known before, maybe I wouldn't have done it seriously. (Laughs) At the end of the day, you can only do the best you can do. STRIPLV: Can you remember some of the online vitriol? RUFFALO: "Ruffalo's a tool." "He sounds retarded." "That guy is barely awake. How is he going to be pissed off as the Hulk?" "What the fuck, Ruffalo?" It was pretty brutal, I have to say it really hurt my feelings. It scared me; it made me really insecure, and the funny thing was that I took all the insecurity and shoved it into that performance. So, I thank all that negativity. (Laughs) But it's been consistent income, its security. That was definitely a pull in signing up. And Marvel has an awesome track record. I knew I wasn't signing up for something too crappy. STRIPLV: How like the Hulk are you? What's your good side and your bad sides? RUFFALO: I'm dedicated, I'm passionate. (Laughs) OK that's the good stuff. The bad stuff is that I'm feckless, I can be impulsive, and I have attention deficit disorder to the extreme. STRIPLV: Your kids must have loved the fanfare of being Hulk. RUFFALO: You would think so, but it never actually worked out like that. We would be walking down the street and I'd get a 'Hulk' shout from someone, and my son, in particular, would be, "Put your hood up, Dad!". My girls didn't mind it so much – I think they just thought the whole thing was funny and a bit weird. STRIPLV: You always seem so chilled; you don't have a temper, do you? RUFFALO: Ah yes, I have, it's just very subdued. Wrestled and subdued. STRIPLV: What brings it on? RUFFALO: Selfishness, sometimes my kids, although they're of an age now where they're autonomous, independent people, and that's a nice feeling, albeit one where you realize, for the most part, that you've served your purpose and are now surplus to requirements. (Laughs) I've always said that if you're not yelling at your kids, you're not spending enough time with them. But yes, selfishness, as I was saying, corruption, institutions, all that stuff has the ability to make me pretty angry. STRIPLV: Isn't that what Hollywood is? Aren't you working for a greedy, selfish institution? RUFFALO: Yeah, and that makes me angry. And I've tried to run away from it at certain points in my career. But then Hollywood isn't exactly what I do. It can be confusing for it sometimes. There's the business side of things, and then there's the artistic side and they're not the same, but you can easily mistake them for the same. I have to remember my realization is that I'm an actor, not a businessman, and on that front, I got rid of some toxic people who were part of my life, and things got better. STRIPLV: Before breaking through with You Can Count On Me, what did you do? RUFFALO: There was a lot of bartending and not enough tips. I was bartending for years, taking the train up to LA every other day for auditions. From San Diego. I loved acting from the moment I discovered, "Yes, this is for me." But I was shy as hell. I remember in one of my first acting classes, my coach was irritated by me, "C'mon Mark, you're the only one who hasn't gotten up yet." For years, it felt like a world I was completely locked out of. STRIPLV: So what changed? RUFFALO: I figured out how to act. (Laughs) I moved up to LA, started a theater company, and worked on some great plays, which helped me. I learned how to do it. I did 30 plays in 14 years. And nobody came to see them, except my friends and family. Maybe 10 people in the audience at a time. And I used to make the mistake at auditions that I was mainly doing theatre, and that is not seen as a positive in LA. I learned that was to my detriment because you're seen as a loser. STRIPLV: Really? Slightly harsh. RUFFALO: Harsh, but reality. I couldn't understand why I was bartending to every hot young actor in Hollywood, who was tipping me badly. I couldn't understand that while I was handing out these crappy fliers for my next play. But long story short, it led to working with Kenny Lonergan on You Can Count on Me, which went to Sundance, which changed everything. Suddenly these guys I was serving drinks to were telling me, "Man, you were fantastic." STRIPLV: Do you ever see any of the guys you used to bartend kicking the awards circuit and confront them about their measly tipping? RUFFALO: I've been tempted so many times but you know, I'm always smart enough to hold back. Someone crying out in the middle of the Governor's Ball, 'Hey buddy, you always stiffed me,' would quite match the mood.
RUFF AND READY – MARK'S PATH TO PERFECTION
ONE He auditioned literally hundreds of times before making it big – Before his breakthrough, Ruffalo struggled for years and almost quit acting.
TWO Even when he did get his first role—in the independent crime drama The Destiny of Marty Fine in 1996—the movie was shelved before release. "I thought I was cursed," he once joked.
THREE He once worked as a house painter – Before acting took off, Ruffalo spent time painting houses with his dad. "I was terrible at it," he admitted.
FOUR He's a romantic comedic fan—Despite playing a Marvel superhero, Ruffalo loves romantic comedies, admitting Notting Hill is one of his go-to movies.
FIVE He's had a serious health scare – He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001. Thankfully, it was benign, but it resulted in partial facial paralysis for a time.
SIX He's a passionate environmental activist – Ruffalo actively campaigns against pollution and climate change, often lending his voice to ecological causes.