Marvel's Mark Ruffalo Reveals Why He Almost Quit Acting

Even though he's been nominated for three Academy Awards and starred in some of the highest grossing movies of all-time, even Mark Ruffalo has considered quitting acting. Speaking on the latest episode of Hot Ones, Ruffalo got candid about not only the low points in his early acting career (noting that he though he went on hundreds of auditions before booking a job at one point) to also revealing that he quit acting multiple times. When recounting this low personal low points for him, Ruffalo gave an example for the time he considered quitting that made him stick with acting for good.

"So I probably quit like six times during the course of it all," Ruffalo revealed amid eating spicy wings. "The closest was I my dad had was part of a construction painting business and I went to Wisconsin and I walked on a job site and I saw some guys like sand blasting. And these dudes work I mean they're covered head to toe and they got you know all day long and there's sand blasting them...I was like my hands are too soft for this but my mom got wind of (wanting to quit). I didn't tell my mom cuz I knew she'd be bummed right? And she got wind of this and she called me and she's like 'What are you doing?' She says to me 'If you quit acting I will never speak to you again. I will be so angry and upset with you...' and I never heard my mom talk like that and so I was like that works. Dad I talked to mom, I'm gonna have to go cuz Mom won't let me quit."

Mark Ruffalo was then asked by Hot Ones host Sean Evans if he had any advice for aspiring actors that might be on the verge of quitting like he once was what he might tell them. The Marvel star offered some great insight to not only anyone eager to act but pursue any part of their life beyond what they currently have.

"You're the only one who could stop you," Ruffalo said. "As any kind of artist you are the one who says it's enough. Because sometimes you feel like 'Oh this world is against me doing this,' I had a lot of time like that. Next stay out of debt, do not take on huge debt because you need time and you can't spend all your time servicing that debt. You've got to be doing your work. And number three is develop yourself. Right now everyone's on social media and and everyone's in some way trying to trying to be the same and it's like stay off of that and and develop yourself so you have your own voice. It's you who they're looking for not the next 'X.' Develop a style, develop a way of working."

Mark Ruffalo's next movie

Despite an appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo's next movie isn't in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fan-favorite actor can next be seen in Poor Things, the new film from director Yorgos Lanthimos. Ruffalo stars in the movie alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael. Poor Things will be released on December 8.