Mark Ruffalos name holds serious clout in Hollywood these days (no doubt helped by his ongoing role as Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but it wasnt always like that for the 55-year-old actor. In a new interview with High Snobiety, Ruffalo recalled the casting process for David Finchers acclaimed 2007 crime thriller Zodiac and being told by studio representatives that nobody cared about him.
Studios, they werent coming to me in that way, Ruffalo said of his career in the mid-2000s. Ill never forget when they were negotiating my deal [for Zodiac], the studio negotiator literally said to my manager, Look, we dont give a shit about Mark Ruffalo. We dont even want Mark Ruffalo in this movie, so youre going to take what were offering you or forget it.
The studios total indifference to him is one reason Joss Whedons offer to Ruffalo to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hulk came as such a surprise.
The fact that Joss came to me for the Hulk was so out of the blue, Ruffalo said. Its a tough part how do you get away with playing a character that doesnt want to do what everybody wants him to do and sustain that? Its like a trap. I read it and I was like, I can do something with this.
Marvel turned Ruffalo into an action hero, which he said was a far cry from how the industry previously viewed him. A string of romantic-comedy box office hits like 13 Going on 30 and Just Like Heaven painted him as a rom-com guy in the eyes of Hollywood execs.
What I felt immediately in the film world is, once you did one thing well, thats what they think you are, Ruffalo said. They will just come to you with that part over and over again. And I was like, No. My career is not going to be that. Im going to do as much as I can to try and make people see me in different ways so that I can do more over the years.
Next up for Ruffalo is his acclaimed supporting turn opposite Emma Stone in Poor Things. The Yorgos Lanthimos-directed comedy opens in theaters Dec. 8 from Searchlight Pictures.