Mark Ruffalo Reveals Channing Tatum Told Him to “Slap the Sh-t Out of Me” Filming Foxcatcher

Mark Ruffalo is best known for playing Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the actor is currently busy promoting his latest film, Poor Things. He’s making the usual rounds, including doing one of Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” series alongside his longtime MCU and Zodiac co-star, Robert Downey Jr. Ruffalo also appeared on Hot Ones this week and revealed that he almost quit acting. During the interview, Ruffalo also talked about Foxcatcher, the 2014 film that earned him an Academy Award nomination. Ruffalo appeared in the film alongside Channing Tatum, and Ruffalo revealed the Magic Mike alum encouraged Ruffalo to slap him.

Ruffalo shared that  Tataum “did ask me to slap the sh*t out of him.” The actor added that “it was easy to do because he’d beaten the shi*t out of me so many times” since they had “like four months of wrestling, of learning how to wrestle together” for the film. However, Ruffalo ended up channeling some of that Hulk strength, and the slap didn’t end well for Tatum. 

Ruffalo explained that Tatum had “30 pounds on me so when it came time to smack the sh*t out of him, I was like, ‘came from Alabama,’” and he ended up popping Tatum’s eardrum. 

Will Mark Ruffalo Return To Marvel?

Last year, Ruffalo played Hulk in multiple episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+, and fans are curious to know when we’ll be seeing the Avenger again. Currently, there’s no official word on Ruffalo’s next Marvel project, but fans are pretty confident he’s going to show up again. In the season finale of She-Hulk, Hulk shows up at a family event with a big surprise. The episode revealed that Hulk has a son, Skaar, who is being played by Wil Deusner. 

In the comics, Skaar was created by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. and was one of the biggest characters to spin out of World War Hulk. He is the son of the Hulk and Caiera the Oldstrong, one of the Shadow People who colonized Sakaar. Now, fans are hoping a World War Hulk project is in the works. It is also likely Ruffalo will be a part of the long-awaited Avengers: Secret Wars, which is currently slated to be released in 2027. This week, Ruffalo spoke to ComicBook.com at the Poor Things premiere and revealed he’s been asked not to comment on a Hulk standalone film. 

What Is Poor Things About?

You can read the description of Poor Things here: “From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.”

Poor Things is now playing in theaters.