Mark Ruffalo is currently starring in the MCU's latest project She-Hulk, which sees Bruce Banner return after saving the universe in Avengers: Endgame. The show is easily one of the studio's funniest and most witty projects to date, introducing Tatiana Maslany as the wise-cracking lawyer Jennifer Walters.
Mark Ruffalo's career has been pretty busy with the MCU in recent years, but there are also plenty of projects from before his time as the Hulk that audiences would recognize Ruffalo from. He's been a big advocate for independent cinema, starring in some of the most interesting indie movies of the past few decades.
The Normal Heart (2014) - 3.8/5
Ryan Murphy's The Normal Heart is one of the director's lesser-known projects to date but surprisingly it's one of his most moving and emotional. It chronicles the story of a group of homosexual activists in 1980s New York as they attempt to raise awareness and spread the truth about the HIV-AIDS crisis.
Mark Ruffalo gives one of his strongest performances in The Normal Heart, truly capturing the frustration and anger that accompanies such a sensitive topic. He's an incredibly compelling protagonist, and he plays the character with just the right amount of comion and likability.
Margaret (2011) - 3.8/5
Margaret is a thrilling psychological drama that explores rich themes of justice, ability, and destiny through a riveting story about one woman's quest to bring down a bus driver responsible for a freak accident. It's a truly thought-provoking film, with Anna Paquin delivering an all-time performance in the lead role.
Ruffalo stars as the aforementioned bus driver, and his performance is one that really incites conflicting emotions within the audience. His expert restraint and control allow the film to navigate the ambiguity of justice and the concept of 'fault,' which makes it stand out from other similar dramas.
You Can Count On Me (2000) - 3.9/5
Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count On Me is one of Ruffalo's more touching and vulnerable films, telling the story of a single mother whose life is thrown into turmoil when her younger brother returns to her life. It's an incredibly simple story, but one that's brought to life by two brilliant performances and some astute writing.
You Can Count On Me is one of the best modern family dramas for fans of simplistic (yet moving) stories that everybody can relate to. Ruffalo and Laura Linney create an authentic relationship on-screen, bringing Lonergan's script to life with compelling vulnerability.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - 3.9/5
Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok saw the return of Mark Ruffalo's Hulk after an extended absence following the dramatic events of Age of Ultron - and fans were absolutely thrilled to see the character back on their screens. He brings the perfect balance of drama and comedy to make Waititi's film really pop whilst progressing the larger story of the MCU.
Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo have a brilliant dynamic in Ragnarok, which makes it even more surprising that the MCU hasn't really capitalized on this before. They're one of the franchise's best comedy duos, and Ragnarok fully takes advantage of this in a way that fans loved.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 3.9/5
Avengers: Endgame has become famous for its incredible opening weekend and box office performance, serving as the final act to one of the biggest stories ever told through film. There was a lot of pressure riding on the movie to effectively culminate a whole decade of storytelling, and many fans will agree that it fully succeeded.
Ruffalo's Hulk played a huge role in the final act of Endgame (which is no easy feat given the size of the cast), bringing many fan-favorite characters back to life with the snap of his fingers. Ruffalo turns in a surprisingly emotional performance, exploring the character of the Hulk in a way that's never really been done before.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 4.0/5
MCU fans will likely never reach a consensus on whether Infinity War is better than Endgame or vice versa, but it seems as though Infinity War is the slight winner for most audiences. It's full of action and long-awaited character payoffs, somehow managing to effectively balance one of the largest casts in cinema history.
Mark Ruffalo's Hulk appears in one of the very first scenes of the movie, immediately setting the scene for the drama that's to come and raising the stakes from the previous films. He's one of the most important characters in the film's first act, playing a huge role in the audience's understanding of exactly what they're dealing with.
Zodiac (2007) - 4.0/5
David Fincher's true crime thriller Zodiac tells the story of the San Francisco Police Department's hunt for the elusive Zodiac Killer in the 1960s, chronicling the unspoken help that they received from an obsessive cartoonist named Robert Graysmith. Like many of Fincher's projects, Zodiac is a thrilling watch from start to finish - with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Mark Ruffalo plays a lawyer named Melvin Belli, who also played a large role in the SFPD's investigation. It wasn't Ruffalo's first time playing the worn-out detective in a film like this, but the role fits him so perfectly thanks to his innate charisma and acting subtlety.
Spotlight (2015) - 4.0/5
Spotlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2016, so it's not really a surprise that so many people still love this movie and the message that it presents. Tom McCarthy's reactionary film chronicles the Boston Globe's investigation into the Catholic Church, which revealed dangerous secrets of deep-rooted sexual misconduct.
As always, Mark Ruffalo brings his character to life through a gripping and exciting performance that immediately gets the audience on his side and walks them through this horrific story with a shocking transparency. It's willingness to present the gritty truth in its reality makes Spotlight one of the best true story dramas out there.
Shutter Island (2010) - 4.1/5
movies that plays out exactly like a puzzle, offering the audience glimpses of the truth throughout but never revealing the full picture until the very end. It's one of Scorsese's most intelligent films to date, proving that he's just as talented as a writer as he is as a director.
Many people cite Shutter Island as one of Mark Ruffalo's best performances, most likely because of how layered and complex his character is. There are so many interesting aspects to his character, and he displays them all perfectly - even when you're not quite sure what to look for.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) - 4.2/5
Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the greatest love stories ever told, but not for any of the traditional reasons that you'd expect in a romance film, but rather because it subverts all of these expectations and presents a somewhat bleak concept of romance that comments on purpose, memory, and existence.
Mark Ruffalo is great in his ing role, but the real stars of the show here are Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, who manage to convince the audience of their relationship in such a raw and authentic way that matches the emotional complexity of Charlie Kaufman's unique screenplay.
