When Mark Ruffalo initially broke on to the scene, his nervy awkwardness didn’t scream out, “Please cast me in a superhero movie.” But when playing the socially challenged Bruce Banner, whose unhinged temperament leads to his transformations into the Hulk, Ruffalo’s shiftiness becomes a major selling point.
In this week’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ruffalo returns to the greenest green screen in the business, to alternate between brooding and smashing. If you miss Ruffalo just being Ruffalo, without any CG help, here are his five best moments.
You Can Count on Me
Ruffalo began acting in the mid-90s but his career was properly launched in 2000, when he acted against an Oscar-nominated Laura Linney in Kenneth Lonergan’s beautifully observed drama You Can Count on Me. He plays the wayward brother to Linney’s more settled (at least on the surface) sister, and his hometown return causes tension, but also the chance to repair a fractured relationship. This scene sets up their dynamic quite perfectly.
The Kids Are All Right
Ruffalo received his first Oscar nomination for his performance as a carefree womaniser who is forced to grow up when he finds out that he’s a father. Ruffalo’s easygoing persona matches the character perfectly, especially when he’s playing against Annette Bening’s more structured maternal character. In this scene, we see her deal with his disparaging thoughts on education with passive-aggressive panache.
The Normal Heart
Last year, Ruffalo nabbed a much-deserved Golden Globe nomination for his performance in this powerful HBO movie about the rise of HIV in 80s New York. He plays a gay writer who desperately tries to open people’s eyes to the crisis. In this integral scene, he confronts his straight brother, played by Alfred Molina, and tries to make him admit that they are just the same.
Begin Again
As a drunken yet charming A&R man trying to sign a talented yet suspicious singer, Ruffalo effortlessly gets us on his side in last year’s underrated music drama Begin Again. His chemistry with Keira Knightley is finely developed and, as expected, the songs are stellar. In this scene, the two flirt and debate over authenticity in the industry.
Foxcatcher
A second Oscar nomination came Ruffalo’s way earlier this year for his supporting role in Bennett Miller’s chilly psychodrama. He plays the concerned older brother of Channing Tatum’s vulnerable wrestler, who becomes involved with a bizarre wrestling academy led by Steve Carell’s unstable multi-milllionaire. Ruffalo has the least showy part, but he disappears into his tragic character with ease, as seen in this short clip.
