Mark Ruffalo is an actor who has enjoyed a career that has so far spanned over twenty years, mixing and matching his roles he has become one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood.
He is back on the big screen this week with his new movie The Kids Are All Right, which also stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening.
Directed by Lisa Cholodenko the movie follows two teenaged children conceived by artificial insemination get the notion to seek out their birth father and introduce him into the family life that their two mothers have built for them.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at some of Ruffalo’s best performances.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
In 2004 Ruffalo joined an all star cast of Jim Carey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson and Elijah Wood in a film that was directed by Michel Gondry.
Joel is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine has had the memories of their tumultuous relationship erased.
Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, to have Clementine removed from his own memory.
But as Joel's memories progressively begin to disappear, he begins to discover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure.
As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel can't get Clementine out of his head.
The movie was a huge critical and commercial success and it has gone to develop a very strong cult following.
- Zodiac
Directed by David Fincher his 2007 movie Zodiac was one of the best movies of 2007, and perhaps should have got more awards attention than it actually did.
It was another great ensemble cast for Ruffalo as he joined Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anthony Edwards.
As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer.
The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
While the film didn’t do as well at the box office as it should have done the movie was a bit hit with the critics.
- You Can Count On Me
You Can Count On Me was one of Ruffalo’s earlier roles, released back in 2000, as he teamed up with Laura Linney in the Kenneth Lonergan written and directed project.
Orphaned at a young age when their parents were killed in a car crash, Sammy and Terry have remained close despite the different paths their lives have taken.
Married and divorced at a very young age, Sammy is a devoted if somewhat overprotective mother to her eight-year-old son, Rudy, who harbours romantic notions about his absentee father.
Terry, on the other hand, leads a troubled and nomadic existence. When Terry comes home to borrow money, a disaster in his own life compels him to stay with Sammy and Rudy for a while and try to get his life together.
With good intentions on every side, Sammy and Terry's human limitations bump up against each other until a final crisis nearly forces them apart.
Linney and Ruffalo put in a pair of great turns and Mark Ruffalo caught everyone’s attention as an actor to look out for in the future as he picked awards at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Montreal World Film Festival.
- The Brothers Bloom
2010 has been a busy year for the actor and The Brothers Bloom was just one of the movies that hit the big screen.
Starring alongside Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom was one of the more charming movies of the year with a great central performance from Ruffalo and Brody.
The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust, intrigue and the most complex literary-inspired setups imaginable.
Now they've decided to take on one last job -- showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress named Penelope the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world -- from New Jersey to Greece to Russia and Prague -- in pursuit of priceless artefacts wanted by some of their most unsavoury competitors.
Other must-see Ruffalo movies include Shutter Island, Blindness, Collateral, Windtalkers and 13 Going On 30.
And next year is going to be an exciting one for the actor as he is all set to take on the role of The Hulk in The Avengers.
The Kids Are All Right is out now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Mark Ruffalo