Mark Ruffalo received numerous comparisons to a young Marlon Brando when he came to national attention in Kenneth Lonergan’s masterful drama “You Can Count on Me.” Playing the aimless brother of a hard-working single mom (a terrific Laura Linney), Ruffalo showed enormous talent and clocked in one of the most impressive performances of 2000. Since then he has emerged as a major movie star, starring in films ranging from the syrupy Reese Witherspoon-led romantic comedy “Just Like Heaven” to the recent thriller “Zodiac.”
Born November 22, 1967 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ruffalo was one of four children in what he describes as a “big, happy Italian family.” He later spent his teens in Virginia Beach, Virginia before his family moved to California. He attended classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory in L.A., and formed the Orpheus Theatre Company with several actor-colleagues in his early 20s. Nonetheless, the naturally gifted actor found it difficult to break into the mainstream, and spent a decade bartending while he relentlessly auditioned and acted in small regional theatrical productions. Before meeting Kenneth Lonergan, with whom he started an extraordinary collaboration that included the original production of “This is Our Youth” and the aforementioned “You Can Count On Me,” Ruffalo’s only major appearance was in Ang Lee’s 1999 war epic “Ride with the Devil,” which starred a young Tobey Maguire.
Ruffalo’s deft abilities with both comedy and drama have made his career one of the most distinguished of the decade. His work includes indies like “XX/XY,” “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” the incredibly popular Jim Carrey-Kate Winslet head-trip “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and huge Hollywood productions like the Jennifer Garner vehicle “13 Going on 30,” Michael Mann’s dreamy Tom Cruise thriller “Collateral,” and last year’s overcooked ensemble drama “All the King’s Men.” His latest offering is alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. in David Fincher’s clinical account of a notorious serial killer, “Zodiac.”