Mark Ruffalo Says Hulk Feels Part Of The Team In Avengers

by Helen Earnshaw | 21 February 2015

Mark Ruffalo says Bruce Banner/ The Hulk feels more part of the team in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Mark Ruffalo

Ruffalo is set to reprise the role of Banner for the first time since the billion dollar success of Avengers Assemble back in 2012, and the actor says the new film is going to be more character driven than the first movie.

Speaking to Empire, the actor said: "I think he's definitely matured a little bit since the last one. He's become more acclimated to this thing and to being part of the team. I think he feels more a part of them all.

"But in this particular take on it, it's a much more character-driven version of The Avengers than the first one. It gets a little deeper into each character."

Age of Ultron will see Joss Whedon back in the director's chair and has penned the screenplay for the film. Ruffalo went on to say that this time around, they will explore the two egos of Banner and the Hulk locked in this internal battle with each other.

He continued: "There's a battle going on between these two opposing egos that live inside him. He's definitely worried that the day is going to come when the Hulk gets the best of him, and maybe won't release him, maybe won't give him back. The Hulk knows this too.

"There's a moment in here where he, begrudgingly, decides to go back to Banner. Who knows where these things will go, but as Bruce is able to impress his will on the Hulk, going into The Hulk and being inside the Hulk when he's raging, The Hulk's will is also growing and able to impress upon Bruce.

"That makes for some wild things. We're laying the groundwork for that here. It'll be interesting to see if that ends up being what would be the next Hulk movie."

The movie sees Ruffalo reunite with Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner, while James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Paul Bettany are on board as Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and The Vision.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the first of two Marvel films to hit the big screen in 2015 - the other being Ant Man - and is set to be one of the most successful films of the year.

As for Ruffalo, he is in the Best Supporting Actor Oscar mix at the weekend for his performance in Foxcatcher - he is nominated alongside Edward Norton, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, and Ethan Hawke.