March 31--Now seems like as good of a time as any to honor Mark Ruffalo. The 47-year-old actor is coming off of an Oscar nomination for his role in "Foxcatcher" and an Emmy nomination for his role in HBO's "The Normal Heart" and he can be seen this May in possibly the biggest movie of the year, "Avengers: Age of Ultron," where he'll reprise his role as everyone's favorite temperamental superhero, Hulk. It makes sense that the Gene Siskel Film Center and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is presenting Ruffalo with its Renaissance Award June 6 at the Ritz Carlton Chicago Hotel.
The event will feature Ruffalo discussing his career with a yet-to-be-named moderator (usually it's an actor or director the honoree has worked with) and raises money for the Gene Siskel Film Center.
It's probably no coincidence that this year's ceremony will once again feature a former Robert Downey Jr. co-star (both men starred in "The Avengers", as did 2013 Renaissance Award recipient Gwyneth Paltrow). Downey Jr's wife, Susan Downey, who was raised in Schaumburg, is on the Gene Siskel Film Center advisory board. Other past recipients include Jamie Foxx (Downey Jr's co-star in "The Soloist" and "Due Date"), Nicole Kidman (Downey Jr's co-star in "Fur"), Reese Witherspoon and Morgan Freeman.
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