Mark Ruffalo Told Poor Things Director He Was 'Not Right' For Film

Mark Ruffalo has revealed that he had told Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos, that he did not think that he was the "right person" for the lead role.

Ruffalo plays the role of ladies man Duncan Wedderburn in Poor Things, alongside William Defoe and Emma Stone, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a musical or comedy motion picture. The film was release in Irish cinemas on Friday (January 12).

Along with Stone's triumph, Poor Things also won a myriad of other awards, including one of best motion picture musical or comedy. 

Ruffalo made this revelation when speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, alongside Robert Downey Jr and Andrew Scott, who chatted about the recent films they had starred in.

“I was like, ‘Yorgos, I don’t think I’m the right person for this", Ruffalo said when speaking about his chat with Yargos Lanthimos. “I tried to talk him out of it and he just laughed at me". 

On why he had chosen to star in the dark-fantasy, Ruffalo added,  “In the movie business, it is starting to feel like you’re a little bit in a box sometimes". 

“But I had never played anything like that either", the actor continued. “And I was scared. I mean, I saw his movies and I was in awe of them. So I was really scared. And he just laughed at me".

“It was such a great turn, and I get to do so much fun stuff in it and break all the perceptions of me, or what people want from me". 

"much more comfortable" 

Elsewhere, Mark Ruffalo also spoke about acting and directing following the death of his brother Scott, who was shot dead in Beverly Hills in December 2008.

 “He passed away just before I was going to direct a film that I’d been working on for a long time", Ruffalo admitted. “And during the course of it I was like, I don’t know if I want to go back to acting".

“I kind of feel much more comfortable here in this place".

He continued, “Just the swath of creativity that opens up to you as a director, you’re working with all the department heads, you’re working with music, you’re working with movement, you’re working with the camera". 

“It just feels like a feast of creativity".

“I got a great part. The kind of part in a movie that I wanted to do, and I was like, this is gonna be my last acting gig".

“And it was The Kids Are All Right. And I was just like, f*** it, I’m gonna do whatever I want here", he added. "There’s no rules anymore. I don’t have to be anybody for anybody else".

“And I just kind of did what I wanted with it. And it was really freeing".

This interview also saw Robert Downey Jr speak of his role in Oppenheimer, while Irish actor Andrew Scott chatted about starring in All Of Us Strangers, alongside Paul Mescal.