Mark Ruffalo Wiki: 5 Facts You Didn't Know About The Hulk

The new Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok premiered in Los Angeles, California on October 10, 2017. In this latest installment, actor Mark Ruffalo reprised his role as the Hulk. Prior to the Thor: Ragnarok edition of the Thor movies, the Hulk, who has taken over Bruce Banner’s personality, had few speaking opportunities. However, in Thor: Ragnarok, Mark Ruffalo gets more opportunities to speak and lends a more humorous feel to the plot than the previous Thor movies. It has been reported that USA Today appreciated being able to see both sides of the Hulk in the newest installment: the rage monster and the insecure genius. Let's see what Mark Ruffalo was up to before he played the role of the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.

This post is not just about actor Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok! It is also about facts that are not readily known about Ruffalo as a person off-screen. Did you know that Mark Ruffalo will be 50 years old on November 22, 2017? He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a town of under 100,000 people. How does a young kid from Kenosha, Wisconsin end up in Los Angeles, California? It must have been intimidating and exciting for Mark Ruffalo to move from such a small town to an urban area with almost 4 million people. And then to break through into the film industry! Mark Ruffalo is proof that someone from a small town in the USA can make it big in the film industry.

Even more challenging for Mark Ruffalo was that as a young child he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia and ADD, which makes his rise to Hollywood fame even more remarkable. With dyslexia, letters seem to jump around and scramble themselves as the person tries to decipher what they’re reading. The fact that Mark Ruffalo learned to read well enough to understand and memorize entire scripts is a true testament to his determination. Then, Ruffalo also has Attention Deficit Disorder, which is the inability to concentrate due to being distracted, forgetful, and disorganized. The fact that he eventually overcame this to excel as an actor and director is inspiring.

Another interesting fact about Mark Ruffalo is as a child, well before his role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, he took up wrestling in school. His many accolades in wrestling were an indication of his drive to achieve success. He became a state wrestling champion as a youth. The hours that he must have had to spend practicing to become a state wrestling champion likely prepared him for the long hours required to learn entire scripts. Mark Ruffalo's early wrestling career likely helped prepare him for physical, action-packed movies such as Thor: Ragnarok and playing Bruce Banner/the Hulk.

When Mark Ruffalo graduated from high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, he and his family moved to San Diego, California. He later moved to Los Angeles, California and began acting school. After beginning acting school, he furthered his opportunity to prepare for a career in Hollywood by co-founding the Orpheus Theater Company. He wrote, acted, and directed while operating this theater. One of Mark Ruffalo's first acting opportunities was in the movie The Last Big Think in 1998. Since that time, he has been in almost 40 films. He’s started in comedies, romantic comedies, and action adventure movies. He has appeared as the Hulk in Thor and in other Marvel movies with more in the works.

In 2002, Mark Ruffalo was discovered to have a brain tumor. Finding out he had a brain tumor at a young age had to be a frightening experience. Anything to do with your brain is quite alarming. The fear of cancer must have been constantly on his mind. Thankfully, upon having brain surgery to remove the tumor, it was discovered to be benign. Unfortunately, as a result of the surgery, he had to endure partial facial paralysis. Within time, he overcame this paralysis, made a full recovery from his ordeal, and returned to acting.

While Mark Ruffalo is well known for his role as the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, a couple of his lesser known movies include Begin Again, Now You See Me, and Now You See Me 2. In 2013, Mark Ruffalo stared alongside Keira Knightley in a comedy-drama-musical which was originally titled Can a Song Save Your Life and was later re-named Begin Again (which was obviously easier to say that the original title). He played a fired music producer who happens upon a young singer played by Keira Knightley. In 2013 and 2016, he played an FBI Special Agent in the movies Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2.

On a personal note, around the age of 30, Mark Ruffalo met his future wife, Sunrise Coigney. They got married in 2000 and have three children, Keen, Bella and Odette, who range in age from 10 to 16. Throughout Mark Ruffalo's acting career, he has gained a net worth of approximately 20 million according to celebritynetworth.com.