Mark Ruffalo is a chameleon of an actor, capable of shining in both the most modest indie gems of the past twenty years as well as some of the biggest franchise blockbusters of all time. His varied roles have resulted in a back catalog of greats that spans all areas of the contemporary film business and has earned him several Oscar nominations for acting.
Though a very distinctive face with a very distinctive voice, Ruffalo has been able to slip into the guise of many unique characters and real-life figures. Here are his ten best films, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Foxcatcher (88%)
Ruffalo stars as Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz in Bennett Miller’s chilling true story about the relationship between Schultz and multi-million dollar heir John du Pont, who hired Schultz and his brother to head a private wrestling team based on his estate.
Ruffalo disappears into his role as Dave Schultz as effortlessly as he always seems to, but his performance is often drowned out by the makeup and eerie mannerisms of Steve Carrell’s transformation into du Pont. Both would be nominated for Oscars for their performances.
Zodiac (89%)
Ruffalo plays real-life detective Daniel Toschi in David Fincher’s meticulous and captivating deconstruction of the mystery of the Zodiac killings. Toschi served as a technical adviser on the film, so it’s no wonder as to how Ruffalo seamlessly weaves minor mannerisms into his performance.
Toschi was a figure who not only had a significant prominence in the famous serial killer case but also to popular culture in general from the time period. There’s a legend that he served as the inspiration for both Steve McQueen’s Frank Bullitt and Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, and both the film and Ruffalo appear to be big believers in that.
The Avengers (92%)
Though the sixth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe chronology and the second one to feature the character of Bruce Banner, 2012’s The Avengers was Ruffalo’s introduction to the world of Marvel. Replacing Edward Norton from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Ruffalo took to the roles of the meek scientist and his destructive alter ego without skipping a beat.
His performance was by no means the same as Norton’s, but he instantly felt as if he belonged in the ensemble and The Hulk ended up making some of the movie’s most memorable moments.
Thor: Ragnarok (93%)
Ruffalo’s third movie in the MCU was a change of pace for the brand in general, not just the Thor franchise. Taking some inspiration from the Planet Hulk comic book series, the characters of Bruce Banner and The Hulk are taken well out of their element and the change of scenery in a high-concept space opera was exactly the shot in the arm that fans wanted.
Thor: Ragnarok’s more relaxed tone also allows Ruffalo’s comedic talents to really shine through for perhaps for the first time in the franchise.
The Kids Are All Right (93%)
Ruffalo plays a successful and happy middle-aged man who discovers that he has two biological children from sperm donations. His injection into their lives, and the lives of their parents (played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore), seems like a welcome change of pace for everyone at first but quickly causes severe rifts in the family’s bonds.
Lisa Cholodenko’s comedy drama was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars for its frank and funny portrayal of a less traditional midlife crisis, with Ruffalo and Bening also being nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress, respectively.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (93%)
Ruffalo plays a technician for the memory wiping technology at the center of Michel Gondry’s very high-concept romantic comedy. His character lies at the center of a number of complex relationships that people attempt to make simpler through memory wiping, but only make infinitely more complicated.
A partner to Elijah Wood’s character, he spends most of the movie adjacent to the main plot going on in the mind of Jim Carrey’s lead character after he accepts their services to wipe the memory of his ex-girlfriend from his mind.
The Normal Heart (94%)
Ruffalo plays the character of Ned Weeks in the feature-length adaptation of Larry Kramer’s play of the same name. It primarily follows Weeks, an openly gay writer in early 1980s New York who becomes heavily involved with awareness and advocacy for HIV-infected gay men during the outbreak of the AIDS crisis.
Though a TV movie released by HBO, The Normal Heart is of such an astoundingly high pedigree in acting and direction that it’s generally ranked as a theatrically-released film. The entire ensemble is phenomenal, with Ruffalo shining as the impassioned and understandably frustrated Weeks.
Avengers: Endgame (94%)
Returning as Dr. Bruce Banner, Ruffalo takes a larger role than ever in the MCU’s sendoff to their beloved superteam. Now in control of his Hulk powers and – in a flip reversal from the previous Avengers movie – only appearing in an intelligent and controlled version of his Hulk form, Banner has to achieve the impossible to reverse the devastating effects of the end of Avengers: Infinity War.
The famously spoilerific actor could have not been in the movie very much at all, telling reporters that he shot a death scene for Infinity War and didn’t know whether his character lived or died until it premiered. It’s a good thing he was still in the ensemble for the final chapter though, as it was the most interesting use of the character in the MCU films so far.
You Can Count On Me (95%)
Ruffalo stars as the unreliable and comparatively-immature brother of Laura Linney’s small-town single mother in Kenneth Lonergan’s drama. You Can Count On Me is a film all about the relationships between its characters and it never stops offering interesting insights into them until the credits roll.
Though Ruffalo’s character is often frustrating in his decision making, he’s a relatably flawed individual who makes choices based on what they think to be best for themselves rather than simply serving a story or an audience’s hopes and expectations.
Spotlight (97%)
Tom McCarthy’s real-life drama follows the titular investigative journalism team from The Boston Globe as they uncover a mass coverup of pedophilia and sexual abuse within the Catholic church. Ruffalo was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of one of the Pulitzer prize winning journalists, Michael Rezendes.
Though one of the more recent films to win Best Picture at the Oscars, it’s one of the most unfortunately underrated. There’s such an immense amount of meticulous detail put into each performance, each actor is clearly conscious of not just the accent of their character but the overall cadence with which they speak. Subtle details, like how a particular character structures their sentences or reacts in conversation, make it no mystery why the whole ensemble won several critics awards.
