Mark Ruffalo makes tired, fallible men worth listening to, without tidying them up first. We value that warmth and patience; his broader comic performances work when there is more to the character than a voice and a strut.
Fi1m perspective
In Crime 101 (2026), Mark Ruffalo's detective Lou looks as though he stopped tucking his shirt in years ago. He has also spotted the pattern nobody else wants to see. Ruffalo makes it easy to believe that this untidy man is worth listening to, which is useful in Bart Layton's handsomely made but overlong heist film. We rate him most when he lets competence and weariness sit together without making a fuss about either.
That patient attention to flawed people was there in Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count on Me (2000), his breakthrough as the irresponsible brother Terry Prescott. Independent dramas occupied much of the following decade. Playing Bruce Banner in The Avengers (2012) brought international recognition without putting an end to the dramatic work. His performance as journalist Michael Rezendes in Spotlight (2015) depends on close attention to voice and mannerism.
Task (2025) puts that steadiness to good use as FBI agent Tom Brandis. Ruffalo plays Tom's weariness without suggesting that he has forgotten how to do his job; the assignment simply adds to the responsibilities he already has at home. Brad Ingelsby's writing gives those domestic troubles room, sometimes more than the investigation can afford. Ruffalo helps make the wait bearable, though Tom Pelphrey gives the programme its stronger reason to continue.
Yorgos Lanthimos finds a less restrained use for him in Poor Things (2023). As lawyer Duncan Wedderburn, Ruffalo plays a cad thoroughly persuaded of his own charm. We laughed because his confidence is so much greater than anything he does to deserve it. He is the funniest thing in the film for about an hour, although the intended tiresomeness eventually becomes tiresome to watch. Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 (2025) gets less from that expansiveness: Kenneth Marshall's teeth, strut and preacher's cadence are funny briefly, then Ruffalo keeps giving us the same performance.
Not every part makes good use of his gentler manner. His Bruce Banner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) is agreeable company, but removing him would scarcely alter the film. Try Poor Things for his comic timing, with fair warning that Duncan will test the patience.
Biography
Mark Ruffalo is an American actor and producer. Born on 22 November 1967 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, he began his career in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his stage work in Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth (1996) and the film You Can Count on Me (2000).
He has appeared in films including 13 Going on 30 (2004), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Zodiac (2007), Shutter Island (2010) and Poor Things (2023), in which he played Duncan Wedderburn. Ruffalo is known internationally for portraying Bruce Banner / Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including The Avengers (2012) and subsequent entries, as well as Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026). He received four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and won a Primetime Emmy Award for I Know This Much Is True (2020).
