From acclaimed indie dramas to massive Marvel blockbusters, Mark Ruffalo has proven he can
do it all.
But that doesn't mean that he nails every scene on the first take — and we've got
just the collection of hilarious bloopers to prove it.
After a couple of false starts with Eric Bana and Edward Norton, Marvel finally found a
credible Hulk in Mark Ruffalo.
While he has yet to get a standalone movie, he's been a big green part of the Avengers
films and has popped up in a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe entries.
While Hulk is primarily the work of CGI, Ruffalo does the heavy lifting as the Dr. Jekyll to
Hulk's Mr. Hyde, as gifted scientist Bruce Banner.
"Your work in anti electronic collisions is unparalleled.
And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”
Maybe it's because we "wouldn't like him when he's angry," or maybe it's because the Hulk
and Banner are two different entities at the end of the day — but whatever the reason,
Ruffalo decided that Hulk wasn't going to stick around to Hulk-smash this particular
Avengers scene…
“"Dr. Banner.
Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret Captain.
I'm always angry."
This version, on the other hand, didn't make the cut:
"Duuudes, you're on your own!”
Like the rest of his fellow Avengers — and the majority of the actors who've taken on
major roles in the MCU — Ruffalo has to cope with a certain amount of green screen
acting, up to and including the hours he's spent on set playing the Hulk via a motion-capture
rig that acts as the basis for the CGI-driven depiction of the big green guy that we see
onscreen.
But Ruffalo has it a little easier than most, given that he doesn't often have to speak
much while playing the Hulk, but that definitely isn't to say he hasn't faced some of his own
dialogue challenges.
These Avengers movies are, at their core, science-fiction flicks, and he's playing the
most prominent scientist around, in them.
That means it's up to Ruffalo to deliver lots of technical jargon and scientific word gumbo.
And, even an actor of Ruffalo's caliber has a tough time with it, sometimes.
"Per-potent cells inside a xylo…
Per-potent cells into a xylon cycl…
So was the third time the charm?
"Polysaccharide nano fiber…”
The Avengers movies offer an embarrassment of riches when it comes to action stars.
So much of their huge casts consist of established veterans within the genre, serving up the
physical skills necessary to bring their superhero characters to life.
Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, and Chris Evans, among others, have
all jumped, kicked, and punched their way through other movies… but not so much Ruffalo.
Versed in theater, he's more of a "words" and "face" actor, which are vital when it
comes to playing Bruce Banner, the human, pre-anger iteration of the monstrous Hulk.
That said, he seemed to have a hard time with the minor physical demands of his role in
Thor: Ragnarok.
At least Thor is there to rescue him.
Despite his many onscreen appearances as a superhero, and starring in three enjoyably
ridiculous movies about magicians — Now You See Me, The Brothers Bloom, and Now You
See Me 2 — Ruffalo is widely regarded as a serious actor.
That's probably because his powerful work in affecting, award-winning dramas like The
Normal Heart and Spotlight overshadow the more frivolous, if financially successful,
line items on his resume.
"Mark, what's he get out of all of this?”
He maintains a quiet dignity and self-respect through all his work, so when a script requires
him to say something kind of stupid, it's a real treat — both to hear Ruffalo get
silly, and to see how he pulls it off without looking bad.
Well, it turns out, he can't quite pull it off during a take on 13 Going on 30.
This was his big moment:
"You know what I wish I had right now?”
“No what?"
"Razzles.”
“Razzles?”
And this was his epic fail:
“"I could really use a razzle.
I really need a razzle…”
Ruffalo wasn't always an A-list superhero, and Reese Witherspoon wasn't always a frequently
Oscar-nominated actress and behind-the-scenes boss of stuff like Big Little Lies.
In 2005, Ruffalo and Witherspoon were both making a name for themselves with romantic
comedies, particularly high-concept ones like Just Like Heaven.
Witherspoon plays a doctor in a coma whose spirit leaves her body to go haunt her apartment,
where an affable landscape architect, played by Ruffalo, has taken residence.
"We need to talk."
"About what?"
"Has it crossed your mind that there might be something a little off about the way you've
been spending your days?"
Eventually, Witherspoon gets better and they magically live happily ever after.
But in this outtake, Ruffalo comes on a little too strong with his leading lady.
Here was his best take:
"Has anything uh dramatic happened to you recently?”
“Like what?”
“Like dying maybe?"
"How dare you say that to me?”
And here was his worst:
"Do you remember anything dramatic happening to you recently.”
“Like what?”
“I dunno, like dying maybe?"
While filming another scene from the movie, Ruffalo seemingly couldn't resist delivering
this improvised quip to his scantily clad scene partner, when his very-mid-2000s cell
phone started ringing.
“Is that your phone ringing?”
“No I'm just happy to see you.”
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