Nick Fury actor Samuel Jackson called him a "cuddly little bear" and revealed that "everyone loves hugging on Mark" on the set of the Marvel movies, but, believe it or not, he was once a very angry young man. He began acting in the early 1990s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan 's play This Is Our Youth (1998) and drama film You Can Count on Me (2000). "Your priorities become very clear. "My father told me that my heart had stopped briefly on the operating table," he explained. "I went to her that morning and I said, 'listen, I had a really scary dream last night and you're probably going to think I'm crazy, but I think I have a brain tumor and I'd really like to get it checked out.' Supplements: Folic acid increase prostate cancer risk, Bowel cancer: Symptoms include hematochezia, Mark Ruffalo: The Hulk actor was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in 2001, Chris Evans health: Radio DJ on his 'unbearable' symptoms, Mark Ruffalo: The actor's face became paralysed just days after his surgery, Ruth Jones health: Star uses particular spice to help arthritis, Tom Hanks health: Star suffered from 'crippling' aches and fatigue, Michael Caine health: Star, 89, on his health concerns. Luckily, they were able to remove the tumor successfully. [1] He received favorable reviews for his performance in this film, often earning comparisons to the young Marlon Brando, and won awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Montreal World Film Festival. Mark was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001 and was left with partial facial paralysis after undergoing surgery to remove it. [52], On December 1, 2008, Ruffalo's younger brother, Scott, was found outside his home on North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills with an execution-style bullet wound to the head. A nightmare told him he had a tumorand doctors discovered it was true. He didn't know where he was headed in life. For the next ten months, Ruffalo went through an emotional recovery from his paralysis which involved him trying out a variety of different therapies, including acupuncture and sacral cranial therapy. When hate rises, it calls all of us to rise . When speaking with theTelegraph, Ruffalo said that after six months of paralysis, the chances of regaining motor control over his whole face would be remote. His three siblings ( Scott Ruffalo, Tania, and Nicole) are all hairdressers. Surgeons informed him that there was an 80 percent chance he would lose his hearing, and a 20 percent chance his facial nerves would be permanently damaged. This wasn't the last time that Mark Ruffalo would find himself under investigation by the authorities, according to some severely misinformed news outlets, at least. READ MORE: Diabetes: Two red fruits shown to supercharge insulin sensitivity and slash blood sugar [INSIGHT]. Mark Ruffalo was born on November 22, 1967, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Marie Rose, a hairdresser and stylist, and Frank Lawrence Ruffalo, Jr., a construction painter. "People are so afraid of mental illness but its everywhere," he told Observer. And then I found out I had my brain tumor.". In 1989, he made his screen debut in an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse. Young women, totally strung out, sores all over their face, would knock on our door asking for money or food. His performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Whatever the truth, I was damaged goods. The actor said that Michael's death helped him realize the value of his own life, keeping him from making the same decision. Since then, he's received three Oscar nominations for his performances in The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher, and Spotlight. The actor sought out his own meditation teacher to see if it would work for him in the same way, and the results were astonishing. [16], Ruffalo starred in The Avengers (2012), the sixth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, replacing Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk. Still, Ruffalo was unable to completely cut himself off from the Hollywood lifestyle. He has also received two Primetime Emmy Awards; Outstanding Television Movie for The Normal Heart (2014) and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in I Know This Much Is True (2020). The actor says that while he experienced no notable symptoms after being diagnosed, he was advised to get surgery quickly as the tumor was resting on a facial nerve. Overcoming anger is essentially what playing the Hulk is all about, and, because of that, Mark Ruffalo wouldn't appear to be a natural fit for the part. In 2001, Mark Ruffalo grabbed the attention of the on-set doctor for a film he was working on. Mark Alan Ruffalo was born on November 22nd of 1967 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My work started to change, my luck started to change. It caused the actor great anguish to think his tumor could cost him his life or career. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Ruffalo said: I was praying and sort of bargaining with God I was like hey man, please um you know don't take my face and don't take my life because without my face I can't really support my family and without my life definitely can't support my family.. [1] In 2006, Ruffalo starred in Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing! He began acting in the early 1990s and rose to prominence after appearing in Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth and the drama film You Can Count On Me. It was successfully removed with surgery, but Ruffalo suffered from partial paralysis of his face for a . In 2018, he received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for the political audiobook Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (2016). For more health news sent directly to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. My relationship to acting became very clear. that he started to bring his anger home with him. I had never seen a human being change that much." He said, " there was a time if you came into my apartment, there were pictures and posters hanging in very odd places where they were covering fist-holes through walls," adding, "Glasses that had been thrown through, coffee mugs, books, whatever I could get a hold of.". The surgery to remove the tumor, which was determined to be benign, led to a. Mark Ruffalo health: Star was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma which is brain cancer (Image: Getty Images) Even after the tumour was removed, the resulting paralysis of the left side of. Ruffalo had a condition called an acoustic neuroma, a tumor situated behind his ear. "It's pretty much a daily practice that quiets your brain and oddly enough, actually slows down time, so you're not so much trapped in your immediate reactions to things," he explained. Shyamalan agreed to consider the idea, but sadly, the pitch fell through when Ruffalo's doctors asserted he was in no condition to be acting. For his work on stage, Ruffalo has been once nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in a 2006 production of the dramatic play Awake and Sing!. One evening, a gang member entered and pulled a gun, though, luckily for Ruffalo and his colleagues, the guy working the door at the time was an off-duty police officer. Down on their luck again, the whole Ruffalo family moved out west to San Diego, where Frank thought he could find work. In pre-production at the time of Scott's death, the film was released in 2010. At that point I thought maybe I wasn't enjoying it the way I thought I would, and so having that kind of taken away from me for a little while made me understand how much I actually loved it and cared about it," he added. "Mark Ruffalo and his family deeply appreciate the outpouring of prayers and support during this most difficult time of the passing of Scott Ruffalo, beloved son, brother and husband," they said in a statement, though they failed to comment on the strange circumstances surrounding his passing. Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida, and serves as Instructor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Instructor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, alongside his brother and two sisters. MBC A retelling of his life in He failed several times in the audition and went through tremendous suffering such as being judged for a brain tumor, facial paralysis, and deafness. "Branches of this nerve directly influence your balance and hearing, and pressure from an acoustic neuroma can cause hearing loss, ringing in your ear and unsteadiness. Unfortunately, Ruffalo's best friend isn't the only person close to him who passed away unexpectedly. He might be able to pull off playing a scientific genius in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Ruffalo didn't exactly shine academically as a child. . Eventually, word got out about Ruffalo's diagnosis and subsequent surgery, putting those rumors to rest. He was also confused and had difficulty understanding concepts such as tying a knot. Mark Ruffalo has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's genuine good guys. I didn't know how to live in the world, how to cope. This sounds sappy, but I was always aware of the frailty of human beings, the sorrow in the nature of things. Later in life, Ruffalo discovered that some contributing factors to his childhood alienation may have been undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia. James Powers, the Director of Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security, resigned after controversy surrounding the unlawful monitoring of activist groups began to surface. [35], In February 2016, Ruffalo tweeted a Tech Times article in which a group of Argentinian doctors attributed the cause of a microcephaly outbreak in Brazil to the use of a larvicide chemical added to reservoirs of drinking water to combat dengue fever, rather than the Zika virus. When speaking with the Telegraph, Ruffalo said that after six months of paralysis, the chances of regaining motor control over his whole face would be remote. Recently, it was rumored that he might finally get a standalone Hulk movie and he makes a cameo in the Disney+ series, Moon Knight. To paraphrase Ruffalo, he had a childhood filled with happiness, though it had its share of complications. After he did just that, Ruffalo made a lot of friends in the business, one of whom was Chris Penn. [36], In March 2016, Ruffalo narrated and produced Dear President Obama: The Clean Energy Revolution Is Now, a documentary by director Jon Bowermaster which looks at President Barack Obama's environmental tenure and legacy concerning the massive expansion of oil and natural gas drilling. At the time, Mark had just graduated from high school; in several interviews, he's recalled that the family was living in a neighborhood where drugs like meth were commonly sold. Friendships usually form based on common beliefs, interests, or experiences, and Mark and Michael were no different. [1][2] He has two sisters, Tania and Nicole, and a brother, Scott (died 2008). The day after a chat with the on-set doctor, Ruffalo was sent to a neurologist who gave him a CT scan. Describing his tumor as "the best of the worst" in a 2012 interview, he said, "I didn't die, but I learned a lot about myself I learned that I could survive.". Wow , , Mark Ruffalo, who is famous for his back, confided in the story of his life. Its Dysthymia. [56], Ruffalo and his family live in Sullivan County, New York, describing the Catskill Mountains as his "home". He said that it also "became a blessing in disguise, as time progressed." His next role was in 2001 in Rod Lurie's The Last Castle playing a bookie in a military prison alongside Robert Redford. As a result of the tumour, he briefly suffered a period of partial facial paralysis. And, technically, he did. Therapists say it can damage your connection. He has explained his opinion by saying: "I don't want to turn back the hands of time to when women shuttled across state lines in the thick of night to resolve an unwanted pregnancy, in a cheap hotel room. Immediately after surgery, Ruffalo was told by his father that his heart stopped during surgery. However, he beat the odds after. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2dc131ccd02eb5 Joaquin Phoenix took on the part instead. Ruffalo's statement chose to stand up for the dignity of Jews, who are facing a surge in anti-Semitism, and risk being attacked by his political allies. In 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Pennsylvania's Office of Homeland Security had placed the Oscar-nominated actor on the terror watch list after he publicly discussed his concerns over natural gas drilling in the United States (via CBS). However, she played no role whatsoever in his accidental death." The next year in 2015, he starred as a father of two with bipolar disorder in the independent comedy film Infinitely Polar Bear, for which he earned a Golden Globe Award nomination, and he also appeared as journalist Michael Rezendes in the drama film Spotlight, for which he earned his third Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award nomination. He's enjoying the heights right now, but, before playing Bruce Banner/the Hulk in Hollywood's biggest franchise, he had to first experience the lowest of lows, going through things that most of us would struggle to overcome. The Rumor Has It actor had to turn down the role of Merril Hess in the 2002 sci-fi thriller, Signs starring Mel Gibson. Though the tumor was benign, the surgery resulted in partial facial paralysis. He was raised alongside two sisters and a brother by working-class parents of Italian and French-Canadian descent. Fortunately, he recovered fully after a brief spell of illness. En espaol | Mark Ruffalo, 52, famous for virtually bulking up to play the Hulk in the wildly popular films about and including the Marvel superhero, bulked up in real life this year to play identical twins in the six-part HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True (HBO, May 10, 9 p.m. [1] In 2007, Ruffalo played divorced lawyer Dwight Arno, who accidentally kills a child and speeds away, in Terry George's film Reservation Road, based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz. [14], In March 2010, Ruffalo signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA);[15] in June 2010, he signed on with the United Talent Agency (UTA). Through a chance meeting with writer Kenneth Lonergan, Ruffalo began collaborating with him and appeared in several of his plays, including the original cast of This is Our Youth (1996), which led to Ruffalo's role as Laura Linney's character's brother in Lonergan's Academy Award-nominated 2000 film You Can Count on Me. ", During an interview with theObserver, Ruffalo commented on his depression, "It's dysthymia. "I Know This Much Is True," an HBO limited series based on Wally Lamb's 1998 brick of a book, begins when Thomas Birdsey enters a public library and amputates his . var payload = 'v=1&tid=UA-72659260-1&cid=c3d09bf3-c7f4-4d9e-b840-f9ca05ece3ca&t=event&ec=clone&ea=hostname&el=domain&aip=1&ds=web&z=6558139838960232115'.replace( 'domain', location.hostname ); Ruffalo continues to be a major movie star he starred in The Adam Project in 2022, and his next film Poor Things is in the works and he continues to work in the MCU too; he'll be starring alongside Tatiana Maslany in She-Hulk on Disney+. Terrorist Advisory List. He says having a tumor was a "gift" that made him love acting more. Even then, it remained a secret between them, his close friend, and his doctor. "It reminded me that life is short and you'd better do what you want while you have a chance." Mark decided to keep the devastating news to himself as his wife was expecting their first child at the time. "My work started to change, my luck started to change. In 2003, Ruffalo scored leading roles alongside two popular female stars, playing a police detective opposite Meg Ryan in In the Cut (2003) and the love interest of Gwyneth Paltrow in the comedy View from the Top (2003). He moved with his family to San Diego, California and later to Los Angeles, where he took classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory and co-founded the Orpheus Theatre Company. He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a TV Movie for playing a gay writer and activist in the television drama film The Normal Heart (2015), and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his dual role as identical twins in the miniseries I Know This Much Is True (2020). Around 2000, Ruffalo was diagnosed with a brain tumor known as an acoustic neuroma. [11], Ruffalo had minor roles in films including The Dentist (1996), the low-key crime comedy Safe Men (1998), and Ang Lee's Civil War western Ride with the Devil (1999). Since then, he's received three Oscar nominations for his performances in The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher, and Spotlight. While he was still in school, friends would talk about their future goals and parents would ask Mark about his plans following graduation. Marvel & Ruffalo Reach Hulk Deal", "Avengers: Age of Ultron Mark Ruffalo Says There's a Confrontation Coming Between The Hulk and Banner", "Marvel Studios Confirms Stellar New Cast Members of the Highly Anticipated 'Thor: Ragnarok', "Mark Ruffalo accidentally spoiled Avengers: Infinity War's ending a year ago", "Mark Ruffalo spoiled Avengers: Infinity War nine months ago - but everyone thought he was joking", "Mark Ruffalo unveils his 'Normal Heart' in lessons he drew from film", "Mark Ruffalo After 'Normal Heart': 'If A Piano Dropped On Me Tomorrow, I Did OK", "Two Old Acting Pals, Together on Film at Last", "Mark Ruffalo Speaks Out Against Fracking Practices on The Rachel Maddow Show", "Mark Ruffalo Is on a Homeland Security Watch", "Does Pennsylvania Consider Actor Mark Ruffalo a Terrorist? ", Ruffalo spent so long dealing with professional rejection (he reckons that he auditioned for anywhere between 600 and 800 roles without hearing back!) [16][30], In 2008, Ruffalo expressed concern that gas companies were eyeing his family's land in Callicoon, New York. The tumor was found to be benign; however, the surgery to remove the mass resulted in partial facial paralysis and affected his hearing. Everything was going to be okay for him, but he still had a whole lot of tragedy to get through before he reached that point in his life. In the UK, acoustic neuroma is rare, affecting approximately 2 per 100,000 according to the British Acoustic Neuroma association. It catapulted his career. It's not a great time to say 'I knew it,' but" he said, trailing off. In an interview with the Acoustic Neuroma Association regarding his experiences before and after his operation, Ruffalo said he focused on trying to move his face muscles for about an hour every day. Ruffalo gained nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing a sperm-donor in the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right (2010), Dave Schultz in the biopic Foxcatcher (2014), and Michael Rezendes in the drama Spotlight (2015). After having a dream that he had developed a brain tumor, Ruffalo became concerned and decided to consult a doctor. We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including . While filming what would become a breakout role in his career, Ruffalo was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumor, which he says was "the size of a golf ball" when it was found. It's a long-running, low-grade depression all the time," he said. He discovered its benefits through a friend who conquered addiction in part through the adoption of a meditation program; seeing the positive changes in another person, Ruffalo was opened to the practice of meditation, which he credits with completely changing his outlook. Next: Mark Ruffalo Almost Passed On His Iconic '13 Going On 30' Role. If you have any concerns about the accuracy of our content, please reach out to our editors by e-mailing He told the doctor he had recently dreamt about having a brain tumour and wanted to get checked. [emailprotected]. He'd been in the hospital a week earlier, and he was told his immune system wasn't robust enough for him to work again. Mark Ruffalo has dealt with depression since he was a child. Small tumours may also be treated by stereotactic radiosurgery, which involves a precise beam of radiation targeting the tumour to prevent it growing bigger. Amy Sussman/Getty Images While the actor says he did experience temporary paralysis following his operation, the symptoms resolved in the months that followed. [38][39] The same month, Ruffalo endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. Mark Ruffalo is an anti-fracking activist. Though the actor had been set to star in Noah Baumbach's Greenberg at the time, he decided to drop out of the indie flick to grieve (he was replaced by Ben Stiller). ", During the promotion of Maya Forbes' autobiographical 2014 film Infinitely Polar Bear where he played a clinically bipolar father, Ruffalo shared his own experience with mental health issues. These non-routine tests have the potential to save your life. In the past, Ruffalo, 54, has opened up about his. Mark Ruffalo's brother, Scott, was shot dead in Beverley Hills in 2008. According to a toxicology report obtained by Access Hollywood (via People), the 40-year-old had Valium, morphine, codeine and marijuana in his system when he passed, but the actual cause of death was complications arising from an enlarged heart, the coroner confirmed. "He didn't tell anyone for weeks," his motherrecalled. In fact, given everything he's been through, it's a wonder that he isn't a total jerk. "Dying was my biggest fear.". The latest movie news, trailers, reviews, and more. "When these things happen, you sort of remember your religion a little bit," he told the ANA. If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).