Interview By: Lena Aburdene
Mark Ruffalo is the thinking woman's dream man. Although more frail in person, he is absolutely beautiful. His skin is smooth and young and
his thick thatch of curly dark hair frames his soulful, deep brown
eyes. He has a certain child-like innocence about him, something that
was captured 13 Going on 30 but seldom seen in his other work.
Ruffalo could easily be called the nicest guy in Hollywood. He has no
pretentions and carries himself humbly. He's gentle and thoughtful. He
graciously answered questions for us about his latest role as Jack Linden in
We Don't Live Here Anymore. Probably the strongest performance of his
career, the character he plays seems so far removed than the person he
is in real life.
We Don't Live Here Anymore is a story of two couples who have reckless
affairs and engage in often horrifying extremes of selfish behavior. The
ever so charming Ruffalo explains how he chose a role with such heavy
and sensitive material:
"I read the script and although I thought it was outstanding, it really
scared me. I couldn't think of any director that I thought could handle
it in a really mature sort of balanced way. I thought this movie's
impossible and then I found out the movie has been around since the
70's. And then I met with John and saw where he was coming from and I
thought this guy. Yeah, absolutely. Yes."
Ruffalo believes that the success of a film is heavily reliant on the
script, as he continues his thoughts saying, "I think first it's
probably the script and then it's a combination. you have to have actors
that are willing to commit to the material but also a director that's
been guided. In this particular case we had a really strong director and
strong actors."
The other actors in the film are highly respected. Ruffalo's co-stars
included Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Peter Krause (of Six Feet Under).
Ruffalo who seems confident in himself, yet the farthest thing from
egotistical had to share many steamy scenes with co-star Watts.
Although there were several scenes with explicit sexual behavior,
Ruffalo shyly and squeamishly recounts his uncomfortable scenes: "It's
always awkward and Naomi didn't want to be there so it's not enjoyable.
Especially if the girl's not into it.. there's laws against that!!
Especially the circumstances of the scenes.the sex comes out as this
sort of release. There's a lot of guilt and shame. It's sex that's used
to cover up the shabbiness of their lives. Those scenes carry that kind
of ickiness." Even working with beauty Naomi Watts didn't help ease the
awkwardness of the vulnerable sex scenes, as Ruffalo continues, "Both
Naomi and I were saying we didn't feel that these movie needed explicit
sex scenes and neither of us wanted to get nude.so John was saying,
'we're going to shoot it so you can see the sides of you." In a mocking
sort of terrified voice, Ruffalo squeaks in horror, "So I said, what am
I gonna wear''"
The budget was small on this film, and therefore the film was shot on a
very tight schedule. There was no time for rehearsal and due to that
the performances were raw and solely belonged to the performer. Ruffalo
explained to us what that was like: "The performances are really
immediate and really tight and sort of brave because we didn't have the
time to work out the performance. You're kind of just doing it as its
coming and some of it's really messy looking. You couldn't sweeten your
character up. John (Curran, the director) purposely made it that way.
People to be that hard on each other have to really care about each
other and have a deep, deep connection."
In relation to that, the scenes between Ruffalo and Dern's character
were what made the movie so powerful and poignant. The raw emotion that
Dern's character exploded with was so opposite of Ruffalo's closed and
stone-faced character, but obviously as an actor those scenes are the
ones you hope to find in a script:
"Those scenes (with Laura) were crazy. Those fight scenes..I mean as an
actor those are are really fun scenes. There's a lot of dramatic
material. I never wanted to be mean to Laura Dern. I love Laura Dern.
It's just like if you were a race car driver and you get to drive the
best Lamborghini in the world. It's like working with Laura Dern. She's
the best. She's so present and committed, it's so much fun. All these
people are the best in performance. They're really great actors so it
was very satisfying to do those scenes."
In terms of delving into the psyche of the character of Jack, Ruffalo
found that his research on the character could be easily aided by the
literary works (by Andre Dubos) that the film was based on as Ruffalo
describes: "The book was a big help as to where the guy is coming from.
This is not a guy who plops down. These are people who have had a
relationship that's been working for 10 years. What's different is this
thing called the grey edge: where his youth or his perception of his
youth has passed him. His dreams will never be realized, financially
he's no better now than he was 10 years ago, he's been out of
communication, he hasn't said the things he has needed to say and I
personally have had friends in the past few years who had gone through
this, people that I love dearly and I love their relationship. This is a
decent man in a deep misery and they both are. In the book she's the
smart one of the whole group and she's totally subverted her
intelligence to be a mother. She's kind of sold herself short. She's not
a housewife. She should be teaching school."
To further expand upon his interpretation of Jack, Ruffalo continues his
thought: "He's tormented by it (the affair) he's really retiscent about
going forward with the relationship. When he finally says 'I love
Edith', it has no passion in it he becomes conscious when the truth
finally come out and all this meanness he's displaying to his wife is a
perfect manifestation of the way he's feeling about himself. It's a
hateful feeling and the only way he can deal with it is push her off or
attack her. I think this guy is in the darkest time. And you see it. He
has a morality."
Ruffalo's work has been diverse and profound. Tackling roles in films
such as You Can Count on Me, In the Cut, Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind, Collateral and 13 Going on 30 has shown his commitment
and talent as an actor. Many people may not know that Ruffalo was once
diagnosed with a brain tumor. Although it turned out to be benign, the
surgery left him partially paralyzed for a little while. Having been through
such a traumatic experience and now being an actor with the privilege of
being able to pick and choose from scripts, we asked Ruffalo how he
chooses his roles: "I pretty much pick the scenes that I do and read
something and say, that's somewhere I've never been as an actor or that
is interesting to me and that's how I pick my projects and if something
came along with a guy that had a brain tumor that spoke to me I'd do
that part. Certainly I have a whole lot to say about that issue and it
just gives me a greater understanding of the material and if I don't
understand the character I go out and research."
Ruffalo has struggled and clawed his way to the top. Bartending for
almost 9 years and going on over 800 auditions before he got a break has
surely added to the integrity of this man. A man this committed and so
driven about his passion is more than deserving of the success he's
acquired for himself. He's nothing like the normal Hollywood stars that
walk around with a sense of entitlement. Ruffalo smiles at every one
and exudes a warmth that is rare in most people. It's his eagerness,
his sense of appreciation and his careful choice of roles that make him
one of the most promising actors of our time. Unbeknownst to him, some
are even comparing him to his greatest inspiration, Marlon Brando.
Ruffalo, comfortable in his own skin and happy in life is well on his
way to achieving that honor
LenaAburdene@TheCinemaSource.com
