Could you provide some information on Mark Ruffalo?
—Dianna Arthur, West Baden Springs, Ind.
Ruffalo, 45, is best known for his roles in the films “The Avengers,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “You Can Count of Me,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Shutter Island.”
Born in Kenosha, Wis., but raised in Virginia Beach, Va., by Italian-American parents—his dad was a construction painter, his mom was a hairdresser—Ruffalo moved to California after graduation from high school, where he studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory and worked as a bartender for nine years. In 1984, he co-founded the Orpheus Theatre Company where he wrote, directed and starred in a number of plays.
His first break came upon meeting Kenneth Lonergan, who cast him in his play “This Is Our Youth” and the movie “You Can Count on Me.” Positive reviews led to roles in “The Last Castle,” “XX/XY,” “Windtalkers,” “In the Cut,” “View From the Top,” “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “13 Going on 30,” “Collateral,” “Just Like Heaven,” “All the King’s Men,” “Zodiac,” “Reservation Road” and “The Brothers Bloom.”
In 2010, he received nominations for an Academy Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a Screen Actors Guild award and a BAFTA Award in the outstanding supporting actor category for his role in “The Kids Are All Right.”
Future projects include “The Normal Heart,” “Now You See Me,” and it is rumored that Ruffalo will reprise his role as Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, when “The Avengers 2” hits theaters in 2015.
Ruffalo, an environmental advocate, is married to actress Sunrise Coigney. The couple, who reside in New York, have a son and two daughters.
Of his career, he says, “I try to do the things that speak to me in one way or another, and sometimes I’m even drastic. I like extremes. I like to change things up and keep from getting complacent or stale.”
