Saturday, November 22, 2014

Mark Ruffalo Appreciation

Mark Alan Ruffalo
November 22, 1967 (Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA)

 "Don’t lose your heart, just keep going, keep at it."

In Crazy Stupid Love Steve Carrel's character describes his wife as 'the perfect combination of sexy and cute'. It's not a frequent thing - that someone can be so sweet, friendly and charming while at the same time being impossibly hot.

Enter Mark Ruffalo.



This is one of the most friendly celebrities we have these days - he reblogs his fans' artwork on tumblr, hell the fact he even has a tumblr is so cool, he tweets his followers birthday wishes, when asked about a phone conversation with a fan he actually remembers the fan's name, even though it was a long time ago.

He loves his fans.

Then there is that time he helped out Zoe Saldana. And then there's the joint story.

He shares stories about his dog, he takes his daughters to a park along with their pet bunny and he uploads stuff like this. Are we overdosing on adorable?

No?

Good because there's also THE RUN.



This guy is adorable. Listen to Sam Jackson. And RDJ.


He is also really humble:


And he shares his birthday with Scarlett! So happy birthday to Scarlett too!

There's also that time Mark responded to a fan who was mesmerized Mark takes time to actually respond on tumblr by writing that he is just like everyone else. Tumblr - insanely accurately - responded with this.

There's also this. Whatever the story behind this is, I'm sure I cannot handle:


And you've gotta love that Paul Rudd situation that happened on Comic Con. It's still the funniest thing I've seen all year:


Mark Ruffalo is also someone who chooses such fantastic roles in a variety of movies. He could just settled for being the cute lead of romantic comedies - being effortlessly sweet as he is building doll houses for Jennifer Garner or creating gardens for Reese Witherspoon - but he constantly challenges himself in roles that aren't easy in films like In the Cut - where he played tough cop, We Don't Live Here Anymore - where he played a cheating asshole - or Thanks for Sharing - where he played a recovering sex addict.

Ruffalo was in Oscar talk for Zodiac but he finally landed the nomination for the role that was just perfect for him - playing, sweet, kinda confused laid back guy in The Kids are All Right.

I wouldn't be myself if I hadn't mentioned the fact he is so hot in this movie the audience is not surprised at all when even a lesbian wants to bang him.

I also wouldn't be myself if I didn't mention that in a way he is like McConaughey:


So good.

This year alone Mark has been in three so different movies - In the Normal Heart (Emmy nomination) he played a journalist involved in a fight against the government and everyone ignoring the spreading AIDS epidemic among gay men, in Begin Again (keeping my fingers crossed for Golden Globe nomination!) he was hilarious and heartbreaking as the music producer desperate for a break and in Foxcatcher (which looks like it's gonna bring him his second Oscar nomination) he plays a wrestler Dave Shultz.

Mark is being credited for playing 'every man roles' but it's really not accurate for me. There's really nothing ordinary in how relatable and sweet he makes his characters. He makes us care, he makes us relate, he is so often the heart of his movies and steals the picture from others.

And he probably apologizes for it to them later.

Begin Again
Favorite films:
My Life Without Me
The Normal Heart
Avengers
Zodiac
The Kids are All Right
Begin Again
In the Cut
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Thanks for Sharing


The Kids are All Right
Favorites roles:
Begin Again
The Kids are All Right
In the Cut
Zodiac
Thanks for Sharing
We Don't Live here Anymore
My Life without me
Avengers
Now You see Me


Now you see me
Favorite characters:
Dan (Begin Again) - LOVE LOVE LOVE him!!!
Agent Rhodes (Now you see me)
Malloy (In the Cut)
Paul (The Kids are All Right)
Detective Toschi (Zodiac)
Chuck Aule (Shutter Island)



Trivia:
  • Mark used to wrestle in high school, he then decided to pursue his dreams about becoming an actor
  • In an interview with Moviemaker magazine, he claims to have made 800 auditions in his lifetime before making it big.
  • Bartended for nearly a decade while trying to break in to show business.
  • He was set to appear in Signs (2002) but had to drop out when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. His part in Signs (2002) went to Joaquin Phoenix.
 (about his wife) "She was pregnant. She was due. Basically I found out, then our baby was born two weeks later, our son Keen."
But he didn't tell his wife, Sunrise. "No. I didn't know how to tell her without making her afraid. And so I just waited until after."
"So you were sitting on this in your head for a month?"
"Honestly, I thought I was going to die. And so when my son was being born, it was very loaded."
(this is an excerpt from this amazing CBS interview from few days back, it almost made me cry)
  • The brain tumor Mark was diagnosed with was found to be benign. Following brain surgery, he has fully recovered after suffering from a partial facial paralysis.
  • He is of Italian descent on his father's side, and of French-Canadian and Italian descent on his mother's side.
  • Mark is a supporter of the creation of 100% clean energy (including a campaign to "Put Solar On It"and various anti-fracking groups including Artists Against Fracking. 
  • He is also pro-choice which makes him even more awesome.
  • Was a close friend of Heath Ledger. He is also friends with Gael García Bernal.
  • His brother, Scott Ruffalo, died December 8, 2008, after being found outside his Beverly Hills home after a gunshot wound to the head. 
  • Mark modeled his character in The Kids are All Right on his brother.
  • His uncredited cameo as a snoozing Dr. Banner in Iron Man 3 (2013) makes him only the second actor - the first was Bill Bixby - to play the role twice.
  • According to Sam Jackson and Channing Tatum Mark is a very cuddly person. There's a lot of evidence backing that, this being my favorite:


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK!!!

34 comments:

  1. Ooooh, what an awesome tribute!! Glad you dedicated a post for him, he truly seems like a nice guy which is so rare in Hollywood. I'm glad he's now more well-known because of Avengers but I also like that he still does indie projects and I think he will continue to do so. I LOVE that Paul Rudd thing at Comic Con, his expression is just so hilarious and so genuine!! Man, Rudd should be the one acting like that when Ruffalo shows up, ha!

    Btw, have you seen him on Jimmy Fallon? Oooh, there's a part where he imitates a 5-year-old who just realized he's the Hulk, he's soooo adorable!! Here's the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XrNaBujnUI You definitely should make a gifset out of this one :D

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    1. Haha I think they are both fans of each other :)

      I haven't seen the episode yet but will try tonight, I saw the gifs from that Jesus Christ he should not be allowed to be this adorable in public.

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    2. Hey Sati! I've got my interview post w/ Bennett Miller up if you're interested. I'm gutted that we ran out of time before we could talk about Mark, but we all agree he's fantastic in Foxcatcher. Heck he's my fave character there and Bennett said he's the heart of the film. I just re-read the trivia about him again, so he used to wrestle in high school, that explains how he seems a natural playing a pro wrestler in the film. There are scenes of him wrestling with Tatum and they both looked like real-life wrestlers, well to me anyway. Oh and Mark looks a lot more like his real life character Dave Schultz than Tatum does to his brother Mark Schultz.

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    3. Yeah I saw the photos of real people and Mark was so much cuter than Tatum! Ruffalo still looks seriously hot in trailers, in spite of what they did do his hair :/

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  2. Mark Ruffalo is hella-cool. I also like him in 13 Going on 30 where he does the "Thriller" dance w/ Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer, and Gollum.

    I like the fact that he doesn't take himself so seriously. He just plays it cool as I love that thing he did w/ Paul Rudd.

    The Avengers is my favorite performance from him. He had the best lines... "that's my secret Captain... I'm always angry" and.... "puny god"

    He and Scarlett share the same birthday. That is awesome as I just posted a list of her best performances.

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    1. He is adorable in 13 going on 30 :)

      I really hope he will steal the show in Avengers 2 too, it looks like he has some really intense moments in the trailer and it looks like there will be a little romance between him and ScarJo :P

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  3. I love Mark. He's great. He's such a fantastic actor. My favorite movie with Mark in it was 'Zodiac.' He was also my favorite Bruce Banner in the films. He had great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. Oh wait, they were in 'Zodiac' and 'The Avengers' together too, weren't they! cool.

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    1. Yeah they were together also in Iron Man 3 in that funny scene in the end with Bruce being used as a shrink by Tony :)

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  4. Awesome post here. Yeah, I really only discovered Mark after The Avengers myself, but it's actually funny just how often I've seen him pop up in so many movies I've gone back and seen since, and have been more and more impressed with him every time. Awesome to hear he's such a cool guy in real life at that. Good stuff! :)

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    1. Thanks! He has done so many roles in really varied stuff - I think the only thing he didn't do was horror but for me Blindness is so bad it borders on being a horror films sometimes :)

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  5. Ruffalo's Detective Toschi is such an underrated and understated performance. One of my favorites from the oughts.

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    1. He was wonderful in the movie, it was filled with so many good performances and each actor took different approach towards their respective characters.

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  6. Awesome appreciation post! Mark Ruffalo is a talented actor, and his roles vary that I don't think he always plays 'every man roles'. There are some, but to compartmentalize his work as such, I agree that it's not accurate. My first Ruffalo movie was My Life Without Me (which is in need of a rewatch) - kind of hard to forget him there. Great gifs!

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    1. Oh God "My Life without me" is such a beautiful film. He was just...incredible there :)

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  7. This was the perfect post to come home to after my horrid weekend at work.. I'm gonna watch The Kids Are Alright now because he is awesome in that and it deserves a rewatch.

    And what is his tumblr address?

    The thing about the brain tumor is so scary.. man, could you imagine if it had ended badly? no.. No .. i don't want to think bad things at the moment, I just want to watch The Kids... and be happy that he overcame that!

    PS: I like how your Mark obsession started around his birthday because we got this post! :D

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    1. Oh that is such a good movie :) Good use of Mark in that too :P

      http://markruffalo.tumblr.com/ :)

      He had so many terrible things happen to him. It's awful, he is such a lovely, loving person.

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  8. Ruffalo is adorable! I love that Paul Rudd bit. I'm really happy he's getting more & better roles lately cause he's totally earned it.

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    1. I'm so thrilled he is in so many movies now all of them so different too!

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  9. Mark Ruffalo seems like the coolest person ever. He just seems so laid back, like I just have a feeling he would be a really cool friend who would always have your back, no matter what. He's awesome, and a fantastic actor to boot. Great tribute!

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    1. Thank you! He is so lovely and it seems like it's the case really - everyone in Avengers cast say such nice things about him :)

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  10. A great post, Sati. What's not to love about Ruffalo? He just oozes charm and charisma and it's great to see him get the respect he deserves.

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    1. He is so brilliant, I'm glad to see he has so many fans around here!

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  11. It's only been recently that I've become a fan of his work. He's never done much for me but I adored him in Begin Again. I'm looking forward to Foxcatcher!
    I'm glad he is balancing his marvel work with other interesting projects.

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    1. He was so fantastic in Begin Again, it's still my win for best actor this year and I'm kinda sue by the time I see other stuff he will still be in top 5. I cannot freaking wait for Foxcatcher!

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  12. Great tribute! He's such an underrated actor and a likable guy. He can play any kind of role, and he makes it look easy. Really hope he gets a second Oscar nomination this year.

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    1. Thank you! I really hope so too, I need to have someone to look at for all those hours of ceremony :)

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  13. Love this post. I mean, you obvious LOVE the guy, but you articulated your appreciation for his humbleness and talent very well. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Foxcatcher. Also, have you seen You Can Count On Me? It's my second favorite performance of his, right after Foxcatcher.

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    1. Well "articulate" is not the word that usually comes to mind when I write stuff like this so thank you so much :P

      I haven't but it's waiting for me to tear myself away from 2014 Oscar race long enough to see it, so I'm gonna watch it soon!

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  14. This has to be my favorite post I've seen all year...by anyone. Like, I love this guy. I've been a fan of his since 2000, when he starred alongside Linney in 'You Can Count on Me'. He's just so damn lovable. He's so natural and charming and just exudes this charisma that not many actors possess. I hope that Oscar nom comes his way. I'm just sad that Simmons has his talons in the actual Oscar...since from what I hear, Ruffalo is more deserving.

    Your fandom excites me, gurl!

    And Mark seems like my spirit-celebrity...for reals. We need to be friends.

    I like to cuddle...everybody.

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    1. Thank you, so glad you liked it this much! I really need to find the time to see that movie. I am a big fan of Linney too. I'm not sure about more deserving, people are seriously crapping themselves over Simmons :)

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    2. Crapping themselves, they are...but from what I've read, it appears to be one of those 'FLASHY, YELLS, SCENE STEALER' type performances, with little actual depth...and Ruff's character and perf has been labeled as the 'depth' in the film, and I always respond more to depth than flash...

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    3. Yeah me too but you know these people are fucking whack - I mean they don't care about depth, they just go for the flashy stuff. Lawrence is almost a two time winner, need I say more?:D

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  15. That gif where he cuddles Tom Hiddleston is one of my favorite things too. This man is awesome, and so is this post! I've liked him since My life without me, but it was not until recently that I watched In the Cut, and then Begin Again a couple of weeks ago and I loved him even more than ever. Dan was perfect! He rocked that character, and he looks terribly sexy with long hair. I hated the ending because I wanted him to end up with Keira's character... but still the film was a joy, until the end. Wish he'd get that GG nomination!

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    1. Thank you so much! Oh the combination of In the Cut and Begin Again will sure make one love Mark, he is incredible in those and so so good looking :) His look as Dan is my favorite, along with Dylan in Now You see Me, he looks so hot with longer curls and all that scruff going on. I hated the ending too for the exact same reason :/ He was fabulous and will probably remain in my top 3 male performances by the time the year is over

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