Mark Ruffalo Biography

Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Mark Ruffalo made his name in theater. He studied his art at the Stella Adler Conservatory. Through the next 12 years Ruffalo performed in 30 plays in Los Angeles, but he fought for almost every part and got little recognition. He even began directing, in addition to writing two plays and producing several.

After winning the Lucille Lortel award for his work in Lonergan's off-Broadway play This Is Our Youth, he decided to take a stab at the silver screen. But despite his talent, the films he was in were largely forgettable. Working on indie films in the mid '90s, he began garnering notice with strong showings in The Destiny of Marty Fine (1995), which he co-wrote; The Last Big Thing (1996) and the popular comedy, Safe Men (1998) in which he played a safecracker.

In 1999, Mark co-starred as the grown son of squabbling parents, played by real-life married couple Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller in the comedy feature A Fish in the Bathtub. And in 2000, he received praise for his performance as a not-so-helpful brother in You Can Count on Me, the critically acclaimed film he made with an old friend, playwright Kenneth Lonergan. It earned Mark a Best Actor prize at the Montreal Film Festival and the New Generation award from the L.A. Film Critics Association.

With the exposure from You Can Count on Me, Mark started receiving many job offers and his workload increased. He has since worked steadily, with major films under his belt, such as Windtalkers(2001), The Last Castle (2001), View from the Top (2002) with Gwyneth Paltrow, and In the Cut (2003) starring opposite Meg Ryan. In the following years, Mark continued to be cast in a long list of big titles, some of which include Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Shutter Island (2010) and Date Night (2010). In 2012, he landed the role of a lifetime playing Bruce Banner and his alter-ego The Hulk in Joss Whedon's The Avengers.

In 2015, Mark received both a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in the movie Foxcatcher. Next he appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Infinitely Polar Bear (2015) and Spotlight. The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination in the Supporting Actor category.

He then reprised his role as Dylan Rhodes in the 2016 sequel Now You See Me 2. He also reprised his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk in several more Marvel films, including Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

In 2020, he won an Emmy Award for his dual role on the HBO show I Know This Much Is True.

More recently, he appeared as the father of Ryan Reynolds' younger self in the Netflix comedy/action film The Adam Project (2022) and played a libertine in Poor Things (2023) opposite Emma Stone, for which both received 2024 Oscar nominations.

Although his workload for the big screen has increased, Mark has not abandoned his work on the stage. In between filming, he often returns to the stage to perform.

Mark has been married to actress Sunrise Coigney since 2000. The couple have a son and two daughters.

Filmography:

Poor Things (2023)
The Adam Project (2022)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Dark Waters (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Now You See Me 2 (2016)
Spotlight (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Infinitely Polar Bear (2015)
Begin Again (2014)
Foxcatcher (2014)
Now You See Me (2013)
Thanks for Sharing (2012)
The Avengers (2012)
Margaret (2011)
Date Night (2010)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Sympathy for Delicious (2010)
Margaret (2010)
Shutter Island (2010)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
The Brothers Bloom (2009)
What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
Blindness (2008)
Margaret (2007)
Zodiac (2007)
All the King's Men (2005)
Rumor Has It (2005)
Just Like Heaven (2005)
We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)
Collateral (2004)
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
In the Cut (2003)
My Life Without Me (2003)
View From the Top (2003)
Windtalkers (2002)
Last Castle (2001)
XX/XY (2001)
Committed (2000)
You Can Count on Me (2000)
A Fish in the Bathtub (1999)
Life/Drawing (1999)
Ride with the Devil (1999)
54 (1998)
Safe Men (1998)
Blood Money (1996)
The Destiny of Marty Fine (1996)
The Last Big Thing (1996)
The Dentist (1996)
A Gift from Heaven (1994)
Mirror Mirror 2: Raven Dance (1994)
There Goes My Baby (1993)
Rough Trade (1993)