We’re at a point where the novelty of major actors joining the MCU has long eroded. It’s now a punchline about how quickly an actor will get sucked into the Marvel machine, to the point that newly minted stars likePaul MescalandJeremy Allen Whitehave talked about dodging that bullet. This wasn’t the case 14 years ago, when it was first announced that indie darlingMark Ruffalowould become Bruce Banner forThe Avengers, launching his stardom into a whole new stratosphere that he’s still thriving in. Joining such a franchise is a huge ordeal, and Ruffalo once shared what the process of getting the role was like, andit speaks to how freaky doing mainstream studio fare can be.
The Avengers
How Mark Ruffalo Got the Role of the Hulk in the MCU
In the definitive history bookMCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, it details how Ruffalo first got in Marvel’s crosshairs at all. He wasin consideration for the role inThe Incredible Hulkby directorLouis Leterrier, beforeMarvel suggested he go withEdward Nortonbased on star power. Ruffalo’s profile had begun a new rise after getting Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actor forThe Kids Are All Right, and he was “uncertain if he belonged in an action-movie spectacular.” Luckily for him,Avengersco-writer/directorJoss Whedonwas in favor of Ruffalo, and so he had a plan to get him enticed.Whedon decided to secretly give Ruffalo pages of the script that involved Banner, and Ruffalo clearly liked what he read. Before officially saying yes, he felt the need to call Edward Norton and “got his blessing to take the part.” It’s always nice to see the great ones giving each other proper respect like that.
On the eve of San Diego Comic Con 2010, where the full cast ofThe Avengerswas set to be announced and presented, a deal had still not been struck between Marvel and Ruffalo’s representatives. Ruffalo got a call from his agent, who told him to “look out your window at five o’clock in the morning. If there is a car there, you got the part. If there’s not, just go back to bed.” Ruffalo woke up the next morning at 5:00 A.M., looked out his window, and saw a limo waiting for him. He got in the limo, on a plane to San Diego, and was there on stage for the first grand reveal of what would become one of the most iconic films of the 21st century.
Marvel Actors Need To Be Sworn to Secrecy — Usually
While this might sound like a deleted scene fromaDavid Fincherfilm, this is just one instance of Marvel’s longstanding romance with keeping things as secretive as possible. With so much money behind the productions and with how much the movies lean into the tropes of long form comic storytelling,it’s imperative that Marvel keep a tight lid on any and all developments that could leak out. Actors who get involved in the MCU have long been schooled on the art of keeping what’s coming next on the down low. That schooling has usually led to good results, with one notorious exception beingTom Holland, who has maintained a reputation for not keeping his mouth shut — which is quite adorable.It’s ironic that Ruffalo would be sworn to such a life of secrecy, as he has grown to have a notorious relationship with keeping secrets. He’s had a habit of blurting out “spoilers” in interviews, to the point thathe’s even called himself out over it in the past.
It’s a testament to the quality of acting that Mark Ruffalo has brought to his portrayal that Marvel has let his secret slippery slide. While thedevelopment of Banner/Hulk has been shaky, to say the least,it’s been made more tolerable thanks to Ruffalo’s consistent emotional anchoring of one of the MCU’s most evolved characters. The Banner character has become so comfortable with the audience over the years that it’s almost hard to fathom how strange it was to have Ruffalo involved in this franchise at all. Were it not for the off-kilter creative instincts of Joss Whedon, Ruffalo wouldn’t have been thought of forThe Avengersall those years ago. He’s come a long way from that foggy-eyed limo ride, and we should all rejoice that it happened.
