Mark Ruffalo: the former wrestling champion grapples with dark, tricky roles and takes them to the mat

Interview, June, 2002 by Mark Olsen

A high school wrestling champion, actor Mark Ruffalo is still battling, grappling with the Hollywood machinery that surrounds his rising stardom. Having grown up in Wisconsin, Virginia and Southern California, the 34-year-old eventually landed in Los Angeles, struggling for years in Tinseltown's unheralded theater scene. His role in Kenneth Lonergan's breakthrough play This is Our Youth [1996] put Ruffalo on the road to recognition; the accolades he received for his performance in Lonergan's debut film, You Can Count on Me [2000], revved his career into high gear. Now, nearly two years since that film's release, the acclaim is translating into broader recognition and burgeoning stardom--witness his appearance opposite Nicolas Cage this month in Windtalkers, the long-awaited war epic from director John Woo. And later this year, Ruffalo will be seen alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in a romantic comedy called A View From the Top, and in XX/XY, which played well at this year's Sundance Festival. Sometimes good things d o come to those who wait.

MARK OLSEN: How has the critical acclaim for You Can Count on Me translated for you? It seems as if you're getting bigger roles in bigger pictures.

MARK RUFFALO: Yes, but sometimes I'd rather have the smaller roles. Sometimes, if you can get in and play a smaller, interesting character, and the movie isn't riding solely on you, it gives you a chance to explore some different territory without an enormous amount of responsibility. My manager and I, we pursue some of the smaller things that my agency doesn't--things that aren't completely set up, little movies that haven't found their place. I'm in a position where no one's really offering me leading roles in bigger pictures, and the [people making the] smaller pictures don't approach me, because they're like, "Oh, he's outside of our range." It's taking a concerted effort on our part to make sure that the smaller filmmakers know that we're interested in those pictures, and that it isn't just about raising the quotes. I'm digging myself a hole here, aren't I? [laughs]

MO: So while you're in this "in-between" stage, are you still working in the theater? Or are you concentrating solely on film?

MB: Actually, right now I'm doing a benefit for my theater company in L.A.; we're doing two nights of Waiting for Godot.

MO: What's the name of your company?

MB: It's called page 93. It's this little theater company consisting of the people I started acting with 15 years ago. Last year I directed a play there, Margaret, and now I'm thinking about teaching a class, directing a few more plays and maybe acting in a couple. I've really been missing it and gearing my life so I can get back into it.

MO: And you're planning to direct a film, too, aren't you?

MB: Yes, it's called Mojo, and I have it set up with Killer Films. I've been working on it for about three years with the writer [Chris Thornton], one of my best friends. We're just finishing up the shooting draft and we're looking to get started by the beginning of the new year. I've also written a couple of shorts, and I co-wrote a movie called The Destiny of Marty Fine, that we made in '95, which is still floating out there. People know me for You Can Count on Me and This is Our Youth, but before that I'd done about 30 plays, playing everything from a prince to a pauper. And at this point, I've directed five plays and done 20 films.

MO: Well, this diverse list of accomplishments brings up my next question. Though you're very much on the rise as a movie actor, it'd be wrong to call you a "newcomer." Still, in what must be considered your big breaks, This is Our Youth and You Can Count on Me, you play a younger man struggling to grow up, and during the period of time since you've become known for these projects, you yourself--

MB: --have grown up.

MO: Well, that's for you to decide. [both laugh] But you have gotten married and had a son. Has that changed your perspective, both with regards to yourself and that specific character?

MB: Yeah, it really has. In my generation, maybe in any generation, that kind of guy is an archetype. And that particular story to me is really poignant and moving. But, as you said, I did You Can Count on Me almost two-and-a-half years ago, and a lot has happened to me since then. I look at that part like a younger brother that I love and have deep empathy for. He's something that's inside of me in a way that's really familiar. But I have my own life and I feel like I have a lot more stories inside of me than that one.

MO: Like Windtalkers, which is certainly a different kind of film for you: It's a summer blockbuster, a John Woo war movie. What was that experience like for you?

MB: It was out of control! The film is a very human portrayal of what war is like for people. I was plopped down in the middle of a war. While on set, I used to joke: Who needs an acting class when you have a five-gallon gas explosion going off next to you? There's a battle sequence in there with 1,500 extras, a 15-minute shot with 12 cameras rolling. You're running and there are real explosions going off right next to you and people are flying in the air. It was a performance art piece for the gods.