Mark Ruffalo Discusses Playing The Hulk in The Avengers

Mark Ruffalo discusses taking on the role of The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie
Mark Ruffalo discusses taking on the role of The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie
Entertainment Weekly recently talked with Mark Ruffalo about playing the Hulk in Marvel Studios highly anticipated movie version of The Avengers.

In talking with Ruffalo they discussed what it is like inhabiting such an iconic character as Bruce Banner.

He's a guy struggling with two sides of himself - the dark and the light - and everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control. I grew up on the Bill Bixby TV series, which I thought was a really nuanced and real human way to look at The Hulk. I like that the part has those qualities.


Another topic of discussion was Ruffalo picking up the role after Marvel and Edward Norton had a clandestine falling out.

I'm a friend of Ed's, and yeah, that wasn't a great way for all that to go down. But the way I see it is that Ed has bequeathed this part to me. I look at it as my generation's Hamlet.


Marvel's The Avengers comes to theaters May 4th, 2012 and stars Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey Jr., Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson. The film is directed by Joss Whedon.


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Comments (40)

  1. Phillip Wilcox

    @jbottas7 I completely and totally 100% agree with you! :)

    2 years agoby @phillip-wilcoxFlag

  2. Jbottas7

    Marvel's "being in a hurry" to reboot all their superhero movies IS NOT A BAD THING!!! Let's not forget the 10 years or so of completely botched superhero movies that we all really loved for about 5 minutes when they first came out, then re-watched, and were disappointed by. Spider-Man, Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, X-Men, Fantastic 4, Ang Lee's Hulk,, sure we all saw them cuz we love the charecters and their classic stories, but there isn't enough time in the day to list what's wrong with them. (Wesley Snipes' Blade movies rock tho!) Now those, for the most part, were churned out. Iron Man 1 & 2, The Incredible Hulk, as well as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have raised the bar astronomically for superhero movies. So go ahead Marvel,, reboot'em all. and keep 'em coming,, if they're done right the true fans will be there!

    2 years agoby @jbottas7Flag

  3. Emmytt

    @bluedevil yea we will most likely see more hulk then mark since banner learn to control the hulk

    2 years agoby @emmyttFlag

  4. bluedevil

    Adrian Brody's Nose is already HUGE. I don't want to see that thing Gamma Radiated anytime soon. He was good in PREDATORS though.

    2 years agoby @bluedevilFlag

  5. bluedevil

    Mark Ruffalo isn't my first choice to fill Edward's shoes but he is a good actor. I have a feeling he won't really have much screen time and we'll be seeing more HULK than Mark in this movie anyway.

    2 years agoby @bluedevilFlag

  6. Emmytt

    @shuabert i agree

    2 years agoby @emmyttFlag

  7. Josh

    You've got to be kidding if you think that Louis Letterier is a better director than Ang Lee.

    2 years agoby @shuabertFlag

  8. Ownsin

    They need to get Eric Bana back at least he's better than Ruffalo...

    2 years agoby @ownsinFlag

  9. The Dark Knight

    Ed was the best hulk but lets see how it goes but comparing it to hamlet he needs to get off his high horse hah

    2 years agoby @thedarkknight23Flag

  10. The Serial Killer

    I don't think he's the right choice to play the Hulk at all. He mostly has a thing for being in dumb romantic comedies and I hated "Shutter Island." I'm thinking of Adrien Brody for the role instead.

    2 years agoby @traeFlag

  11. ejk1

    T really wish the spam would stop.

    2 years agoby @ejk1Flag

  12. joekerr2e

    I'll have to disagree on this. I'm not happy with the Ruffalo pick... it's an absolute bust for me. Again, this is just my opinion. Honestly, wtf do I know? I picked Airbender to be the summer sleeper like 6mos ago. I still have to get "Thank You" cards out to everyone, for not rubbing that in my face evertime I post. They'll be in the mail soon, promise! :)

    2 years agoby @joekerr2eFlag

  13. Emmytt

    he will be good as the hulk

    2 years agoby @emmyttFlag

  14. Ownsin

    Eric Bana was awesome as The Hulk! but the writing and directing was sh*t :(... so don't blame Bana! and shut up Monkeyiron... Eric Bana is an awesome actor.

    2 years agoby @ownsinFlag

  15. ZanyZap

    I don't know. In my opinion, he's either gonna ace the character, or completely ruin it. There have been numerous instances where new actors take over an existing character. Besides, next to big names like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Chris Evans, Norton's absence will most likely go unnoticed by the average moviegoer.

    2 years agoby @zanyzapFlag

  16. Mutant

    Okay I'm giving up on marvel films as well, good bye cruel world. DC all the way

    2 years agoby @zenderFlag

  17. IamBATMAN

    as I have said before, Banner is not that hard of a character to play... the biggest thing is the look and if he can "scrawny" himself up he will ace it

    we should all be very thankful it went to him instead of Phoenix

    2 years agoby @iambatmanFlag

  18. Err

    right now im not seeing it, but he's a decent actor so i'm sure he'll pull it off reasonably well.

    2 years agoby @err2005Flag

  19. DoubleR0522

    Ruffalo will do great as the Hulk...i hope lol

    2 years agoby @doubler0522Flag

  20. SCREENWRITER

    I think Bale could fit the part of Banner perfectly.

    2 years agoby @the-screenwriterFlag

  21. Rufio

    bana didn't jack up hulk @Monkeyiron... Ang Lee, the writers and the AWFUL CGI did. Bana and Connelly were the best part of the 2003 Hulk disaster.
    that being said - i agree with your comment about ruffalo. i like him in almost everything he does, but this role makes me nervous. rather it be norton, but oh well.

    2 years agoby @rufioFlag

  22. Monkeyiron

    All I know is you better not f*ck up being the hulk like Bana I sh*t you not!!!!!

    2 years agoby @monkeyironFlag

  23. Diaigma

    @superman81

    You forget Marvel is now owned by Disney. It's Disney that's all about the money :P

    2 years agoby @diaigmaFlag

  24. Josh

    @superman81: Marvel had nothing to do with casting and production on Ang Lee's HULK, either Punisher film, or any of the Spider-Man films. They just own the rights to the comic book characters, not the film portrayals. Hence Marvel Studios, so they have more control over their own characters in film, like Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Ant Man, etc.

    2 years agoby @shuabertFlag

  25. superman81

    Oh and Im with you Todd, Marvel seems to be all about the money and not about making good films. They are so in a rush to make reboots and push films out that they dont care whats their product is like. WB/DC seem to have their head on their shoulders. The bread and butter of their entire franchise is Superman and DC/WB is waiting patiently for Batman 3 to film and then they will make the Superman film. Which I have read should be released Christmas of 2012. (aint the world suppose to come to an end in Dec 2012???? Great move DC!!! LMAO!!)

    2 years agoby @superman81Flag

  26. superman81

    I think alot fans just wanna see more HULK and less Banner now, Im not sure how much on screen time Ruffalo will have but Im sure every min he is on fans will be wanting the HULK instead. I kind of hope they keep the HULK look from Nortons HULK though and not try to model it after Ruffalo. That thought scares me!!!!!

    2 years agoby @superman81Flag

  27. Mutant

    It puts off the fans of marvel, I was a comic read for nearly twenty years. I haven't totally stopped since I only read Wolverine now. I might stop reading marvel comic's for the rest of my life.
    I'm beginning to question their judgment.

    2 years agoby @zenderFlag

  28. Diaigma

    While I don't like it, at least they picked someone who might do the role justice. We'll see.

    2 years agoby @diaigmaFlag

  29. superman81

    Im with Mushy on the first paragraph, most actors who take on Iconic roles give the same kind of speech. There a few actors who have come out and said they never read the comics or wasnt a fan of the person they were playing. Ruffalo knows that alot of fans are not to happy with Norton being replaced and this is him trying to put out the fire. Im not saying Ruffalo is a bad actor but Marvel dropped the ball once again. Their track record is getting pretty sh*tty. Banner (not HULK) has been played by 3 different guys now in the movies (Bana,Norton,and Ruffalo) Marvel knew from the very first HULK movie that Norton wanted to be him all along. Why piss on a guy who wanted to make the franchise his own?? Marvel switched actors in the Punisher movies,they are rebooting Spider-Man for no reason and got yet another actor to play Spider-Man!! Marvel has to consistency at all!

    2 years agoby @superman81Flag

  30. RojoDiablo

    Ruffalo is a fine actor and I like him even more now that I know he's a Georgia boy like myself!! You just have to trust Whedon has this under control, I know I do.

    2 years agoby @rojodiabloFlag