Mark Ruffalo is an American actor who’s well known for his role as “Bruce Banner or The Hulk” in the Marvel Movies such as “The Avengers”(2012), “Avengers: Age of Ultron”(2015), “Thor Ragnarok”(2017), “Infinity War”(2018), and “Endgame”(2019.
The actor decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting ever since he was young and even joined the “Stella Adler Studio of Acting” so he can sharpen his talent in acting. This later lead him to create the “Orpheus Theatre Productions”.
He then was able to make a breakthrough with his career when he was able to meet Kenneth Lonergan where he acted in some of Kenneth’s plays like “This is Youth”(1996) and helped him gain popularity to star in more notable roles.
With his rise to stardom, Mark has been able to perform in more movies which made him gain his massive success in Hollywood. He has been able to get multiple awards and nominations throughout his career and his fame was also boosted by his portrayal as “The Hulk”.
If you want to know more about the actor then keep reading as we’ll talk more about his career, personal life, net worth, and many more.
Early Life and Education
Mark Alan Ruffalo was born on the 22nd of November 1967, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father was an Italian who worked as a construction painter while his mother was a hairdresser. They raised Mark to be a catholic and even let him attend a Catholic school during his childhood.
While growing up he was suffering from dyslexia and ADD which was left undiagnosed, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying himself his childhood days as said that he was always felt loved by his family.
He then went to “First Colonial High School” and then moved to Los Angeles with his family after his graduation. While he was there, he wanted to pursue a career in acting so he started to attend classes in the “Stella Adler Conservatory” where he eventually help create the “Orpheus Theatre Company”.
He had a lot of roles in his theatre company such as being the writer, actor, and even the director.
Mark Ruffalo’s Career as an Actor
While Ruffalo was still working in the “Orpheus Theatre”, he’s also been doing small roles in like “The Dentist”(1996) and “Ride with the Devil”(1999).
He then collaborated with the playwright Kenneth Lonergan which turned out to be a huge leap in his career. He was able to become the male lead in one of Lonergan’s movie “You Can Count on Me” (2000). The film turned out to be a massive success and also helped him win a few awards.
With Mark Ruffalo’s success from the film, he was able to gain traction into becoming a movie star and even help him land more roles like in “The Last Castle”(2001) and “XX/XY”(2002). He then continued on to play more leading roles in the following year.
By 2004, he was then able to star in some award-winning films like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Collateral”. He was also able to appear in other famous and indie films in the same year.
He was then slowly becoming a popular actor when he was in films like “Zodiac”(2007), “Reservation Road”(2007), and “The Brothers Bloom”(2008) which were able to boost his career into stardom. And in 2010, Mark then had his first directorial movie with “Sympathy for Delicious”.
Ruffalo was then able to make sign a contract with Marvel Studios to be part of their franchise as “The Hulk” where he was then able to star in their MCU movies. This helped him gain worldwide popularity and increase his recognition as an actor.
Awards and Achievements
With all of the movies and television shows that Mark has made throughout his career, he was able to get a lot of awards and achievements from them.
His directorial debut film “Sympathy for Delicious” managed to win him the “Sundance Festival Special Jury Prize” in 2010.
He was then able to win “Best Supporting Actor” in the “New York Film Critics Circle Award” for his performance in “The Kids are All Right” and “Best Fight” in the “MTV Movie Awards” in the film “The Avengers”.
Mark Ruffalo’s Net Worth and Salary
As Mark Ruffalo has become one of the most successful actors in the movie industry, he was able to gain a total net worth of $30 million dollars in 2018.
His salary is also estimated to be worth millions due to the movies he’s been in, especially his role as “The Hulk” in the Marvel movie franchise.
Mark’s Personal and Tragic Life
Although Mark has been able to achieve great success with his career as an actor, his personal life is actually quite tragic. When he was young, his family went bankrupt after moving in san Diego thinking that they’d be able to find a new life over there.
This caused his parents to separate and his dad to move back to Wisconsin. He’s also been able to lose some of the closest people he has known.
His best friend Michael, committed suicide while they were still living Macarthur Park. Then he lost another friend Chriss Penn, the brother of Sean Penn, who died from a drug overdose.
The worst of it all was when in 2008, his brother was murdered due to a drug-infused Russian Roulette Game. Mark had a hard time coping up with his loss but still managed to get back up to pursue his dreams.
Mark Ruffalo’s Activism
The actor is also a very well known environmental activist. He’s giving off his efforts to stop fracking in the state of New York. He’s also made the “Solutions Project” whose goal is to push for 100% renewable energy.
He has also been supporting a group called “Water Defence” which dedicates themselves to clean water programs.
