Mark Ruffalo has been one busy guy this year.
The talented actor, who first got noticed in the 2000 indie gem You Can Count on Me, has been a familiar face in 2004, starring in no less than four films, ranging from the very lighthearted to the very intense. At the beginning of the year, he starred with Jennifer Garner in the hit romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, then went on to co-star in the quirky and brilliant love story Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
Now, in the month of August alone, you can see Ruffalo in two very different films–as a savvy L.A. cop in Michael Mann‘s Collateral and, more notably, in the indie We Don’t Live Here Anymore. He plays Jack, a tortured man on an emotional roller coaster, trying to hold onto a crumbling marriage with his alcoholic wife (Laura Dern) and finding solace in a meaningful affair with his best friend’s wife (Naomi Watts).
We chatted with Ruffalo about the meaning of marriage and tangled webs we can weave, as well as how he has managed to pick some very choice scripts.
Are people having a strong reaction to We Don’t Live Here Anymore?
Yeah, a few are pretty bunched up about it. The whole marriage thing, I guess. They’re like, “What are you trying to say about marriage?” I’m not trying to say anything about marriage. I’m just trying to say something about these people and this marriage. [The film] is honest. 50 percent of marriages end in divorce and like 65 percent of men cheat on their wives or will cheat on them and 45 percent of women cheat on their husbands. It’s a difficult undertaking. I’ve been married for four years and I see this movie as a cautionary tale about people who’ve gone deeply out of communication. I think of marriage as a garden. You have to tend to it. Respect it, take care of it, feed it. Make sure everyone is getting the right amount of, um, sunlight. [laughs]
How about at the Sundance Film Festival when an audience member said, “If someone from Mars came down and saw this film, they’d think love and sex were mutually exclusive ideas.”
Oh yeah. [laughs] I think I responded by saying, “We’ll be sure to be sending this out to the world, to the universe, as our personal book of love.”
Did the film have an impact on your feelings about marriage?
It just kind of confirmed by beliefs about marriage I have already. I mean, I think I admire my wife the most out of anyone. She’s really smart, in a practical way that I don’t have. We balance each other.
If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would it be?
Upstate New York. I live in L.A. now, but not my favorite place. Too limiting.
What other profession would you have tried besides acting?
Maybe a teacher. If I were smart enough, an English teacher. Or maybe a writer.
Any aspirations to do that now?
Yeah, I guess I do. But I’m more like a guy panhandling for a smoke. Unfortunately, I only have the habit without the means to get some of my own.
After years of trying to break in–over 800 auditions, you once said–when did you feel like you finally made it?
I still feel like I’m trying to make it. It’s hard to shed the struggling actor thing.
Yeah, but Mark, you’ve made three critically acclaimed films and one box office success in this year alone.
I guess I’ve developed a decent taste from all the years in theater and all the years I’ve been doing this. I like to think the movies that I’ve picked have something worthwhile to say. Something relevant.
What advice would you give young actors?
Do theater. Because you’ll develop a craft that you’ll always have. It’ll give you a chance to really learn how to act and you won’t go into the world with a few measly tricks that will only carry you so far. Or those tricks might carry you a long time, but you might not have a very interesting career. Also, stick around. Don’t lose your heart, just keep going, keep at it.
We Don’t Live Here Anymore is currently playing in limited theaters.
