Five years after his breakthrough performance in You Can Count On Me, Mark Ruffalo is a good thing who's still waiting to happen, at least in terms of establishing himself as a Hollywood leading man.
Then again, the 37-year-old actor suggests during a recent interview in Los Angeles that he isn't necessarily the one doing the waiting. He thanks you all the same, but Ruffalo says he likes things just the way they are -- with the flexibility to alternate between studio films (Windtalkers) and indie projects (We Don't Live Here Anymore), between leading roles (In the Cut) and character parts (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), between comedy (13 Going On 30) and drama (Collateral).
In his latest movie, the comedy Just Like Heaven, Ruffalo plays a recent widower who develops an unlikely romance with the spirit of a young doctor (Reese Witherspoon) that only he can see.
Creative Loafing: Why haven't we seen you in more romantic comedies before now?
Mark Ruffalo: Yeah, I've done a couple, but I was kind of the straight guy in them, so this was a chance to challenge myself. I was starting to hear a lot of people saying Mark Ruffalo couldn't do comedy or couldn't play a romantic lead. As far I'm concerned, them's fightin' words, you know? (He laughs.) I'd just done We Don't Live Here Anymore, so I was definitely looking to do something a little lighter.
So it's by design that you seem to be constantly shifting between darker and lighter material?
Absolutely. I'm so thankful that I come from the theater, because they don't try to nail you down to one thing. You can go from Romeo to Iago, and no one in the theater would blink an eye. In Hollywood, it's like, "Oh, this actor can only do this and that, so why even think about casting him in this or that?" All that sort of labeling and compartmentalizing really drives me nuts. I hate that.
Do you have a preference between drama and comedy? Does one come more easily to you?
I definitely like relationship dramas, because the characters always seem to be more interesting and complex, and they're trickier to pull off.
It seems like you've been on the verge of stardom ever since your big breakthrough in You Can Count On Me, but that was five years ago. Are you getting tired of waiting?
Not really. I like it just where I am right now. I enjoy a pretty private life, people tend to leave me alone, and I get to work a lot doing what I think is some really interesting stuff. I've never been motivated by mainstream stardom or celebrity or anything like that. I can see that things are changing a little bit for me, in terms of my career. It's all give and take. If doing a movie like 13 Going On 30 or whatever gives me a chance to do In the Cut or whatever, or helps make it not so hard to get a smaller movie like that made, well, that's the fun part.
Talk a little about working with Reese Witherspoon. The two of you have a nice rapport on screen. How much of that is natural chemistry, and how much of it is pure acting skill? I mean, we all know there are romantic comedies in which the co-stars really couldn't stand each other.
Sure, but that would be an awful lot of work. I'm not saying that you always have to love the person you're working with. But when you show up for work, it's about being professional and knowing what you're doing. Reese was a lot of fun. I mean, she's a real actor who's done some really great work. She's not just a movie personality, you know? Some people call it chemistry, but I think it's just a willingness for two actors to be present and available and playful with each other. It's all about play, and Reese and I definitely had that.
How was it working with Jennifer Aniston (in Rumor Has It, due out in December)?
I feel I've been lucky, because I've mostly only had really nice experiences with other actors. The good thing about working with these people is that the movies are ones they really want to do. They're taking pay cuts or having to chase after them, so everybody tends to be on their best behavior. It's not like a mainstream star vehicle or anything like that. All this stuff that's happening with Jennifer right now wasn't going on when I was working with her, so my experience wasn't colored by that. I found her to be a very gentle and graceful person, and incredibly down-to-earth.
That makes two romantic comedies in a row for you. Does that mean it's about time for something darker and more serious?
Funny you should mention that. (He laughs.) I went from these two movies right into All the King's Men, which is another one of those more character-driven dramas that I like. I only have four or five scenes, but it's based on one of the great American novels, and it was a chance to work with an amazing group of people -- Sean Penn, who's one of my heroes, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson. So that was cool. And now I'm working with David Fincher on Zodiac (alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal), about the serial killings out in San Francisco. It's going to be about as true to the actual events as I've ever seen a movie be before. Take it from me, you couldn't get much darker.
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