The 15 Best Mark Ruffalo Movies

Ruffalo has worked with some of the world's most highly regarded directors, including Michael Mann on this taut crime thriller. He plays Ray Fanning, an LAPD detective on the tail of hitman Vincent (Tom Cruise), who's leaving a trail of bodies across Los Angeles while being driven around by cabbie Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx).

Critics were impressed by the depth Ruffalo brought to a supporting role that could have been a thankless one. That he managed to make an impression in a movie that features Tom Cruise as a sociopathic killer with gray hair is no easy feat. 

"Ruffalo provides an extra dimension of intelligence to what initially looks like a stock cop role." —Todd McCarthy, Variety

Spike Jonze's melancholy adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book follows Max (Max Records), an eight-year-old boy with a big imagination and a lot of feelings, to the island of the Wild Things, where he becomes their king. Ruffalo has a supporting role as Adrian, Max's mother Connie's (Catherine Keener) new boyfriend.

While critics questioned if the film was too sad and scary for kids—Jonze described it as a movie about childhood, not a kids' movie, and refused to compromise his vision—they praised its immersive fantasy world and emotional present performances, both live-action and voice. 

"Jonze and Eggers's most agreeable innovation is turning Sendak's rather anonymous beasts into complex, conflicted personalities." —David Edelstein, New York Magazine

In this little-seen but critically praised crime drama, Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke play low-level criminals from gritty South Boston who make an effort to improve their lot in life. Things don't turn out how they planned.

Writer-director-actor Brian Goodman based the script on things that happened to him when he was a young man, and critics picked up on the film's authenticity. Ruffalo specifically earned praise for his soulful performance as Brian, who wants to be a good husband and father but struggles with addiction. 

"As he often does, [Ruffalo] plays his character with such palpable sensitivity and empathy that you understand not just what Brian is going through at each moment but also the larger implications of these moments." —Mahnola Dargis, The New York Times

This French animated film tells the story of Arco, a 10-year-old boy from the utopian year 2932, who tries to travel back in time to see dinosaurs. Unfortunately, he crash-lands in 2075, when things on Earth are not good, with the planet ravaged by wildfires. He meets a girl named Iris who helps him try to get back to the future. In the English dub, Ruffalo voices Arco's father and—in combination with Natalie Portman (Arco's mother)—Arco's caretaker robot Mikki, who speaks in a blend of Arco's parents' voices.

Arco is an idealistic film, and critics enjoyed its ambitious optimism, imaginative world-building, and sweet characters. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and won the Annie (animation's most prestigious award) for Best Independent Feature.

"Ugo Bienvenu's appealing but not groundbreaking 2D computer animation takes very familiar themes – the accidental visitor from a distant realm is hardly untapped territory – but employs them in the service of something relatively rare: a science-fiction film that dares to hope for a better future." —Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy takes place over the course of a mission to colonize an ice planet. Ruffalo plays Kenneth Marshall, the head of the expedition. He's a Donald Trump-like leader (his supporters wear red hats) who plans to use the planet for his personal enrichment. It falls to "expendable" clones Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 (Robert Pattinson) to stop him.

Critics were hoping for more from Director Bong's first film after the Oscar-winning Parasite, and reviews for Mickey 17 were mildly positive rather than rapturous. Pattinson's performances and Bong's love for humanity were praised, but many critics felt the movie's plot was overstuffed and its satire hamfisted.

"Ruffalo does a toothy Trump impression by way of late-era Marlon Brando while Toni Collette does her best Tilda Swinton as his sauce-obsessed wife." —Jacob Oller, The A.V. Club

In this true-life legal thriller from Todd Haynes (Carol), Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, an environmental attorney who led a yearslong campaign to bring the DuPont corporation to justice for its role in poisoning the residents of Parkersburg, West Virginia with toxic chemicals.

Dark Waters captures the personal toll this type of righteous battle takes on the people who fight it, which is not something crusading legal dramas usually do, at least not to this extent, and critics appreciated the honesty, much of which came from Ruffalo's earnest performance. 

"Mark Ruffalo is a master at playing a certain type of earnest character who often wears a quizzical expression — not because he's slow on the uptake, but because he's the smartest person in the room and he has questions no one else has even thought to ask." —Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

The third Thor movie and first one directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnarok follows the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) as he tries to prevent Ragnarok, an apocalyptic event that will destroy Asgard, his home planet. At one point, he finds himself trapped on the planet Sakaar alongside his fellow Avenger Hulk, and they escape together and set off to save the world.

Ragnarok is widely considered to be one of the funniest Marvel movies, and Ruffalo's Hulk/Bruce Banner is one of the best parts. Thor and Hulk had both been very serious on screen before this, and critics got a kick out of seeing them loosen up. 

"The big green guy is more fun here than he's ever been on the big screen, alternating his tone between being a sulky brat and the raging monster we've long known and loved. Thor and Hulk have especially great chemistry together here, as do Thor and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. The movie truly entertains whenever Thor and Hulk are onscreen together, whether it's them in battle or just conversing with one another. (This Hulk is almost loquacious by Hulk standards.)" —Jim Vejvoda, IGN

The epic culmination of the MCU's first decade and, for a time, the highest-grossing movie of all time, Endgame is the final showdown between the Avengers and Thanos, who erased half of all life in the universe with a snap of his fingers at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. The film mostly follows the Avengers' efforts to undo "The Snap" by building their own Infinity Gauntlet, which Hulk is the only one strong enough to wield. Needless to say, Ruffalo has an important part in this one.

Critics respected Endgame for its grand scale and how satisfyingly it concluded a story that had by that point spanned 22 films over 11 years. The emotional impact of the finale is undeniable, as iconic characters got meaningful moments of humor and pathos. 

"Endgame was never designed to stand on its own as a single well-crafted movie, and it was never designed to follow the MCU formula. It was designed to cap a decade of buildup around a single gigantic story.... In that sense, it's certainly a triumph: it's ambitious, towering, and above all, daring in its difference." —Tasha Robinson, The Verge

For this 2007 crime thriller, David Fincher turned his obsessive gaze to the Zodiac murders, a still-unsolved string of random murders that terrified the Bay Area in the 1960s, perpetrated by a man who sent taunting letters to local newspapers and police. Ruffalo plays Dave Toschi, a San Francisco detective on the case.

The film was critically lauded for its chilling atmosphere, well-crafted suspense, and meticulous production design. Reviewers praised Ruffalo for his rumpled performance as a cop haunted by his inability to solve the mystery. 

"Although Toschi in real life was the basis for both the Steve McQueen character in 'Bullitt' and Michael Douglas's cop in 'The Streets of San Francisco,' Ruffalo wisely tamps down the showboaty side of this man. Ultimately, he is as beleaguered by everyone else by the cold trails and dead ends, of which we see plenty." —Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Ruffalo has been in two movies that relate to the wealthy du Pont family, Dark Waters and this based-on-a-true-story thriller. Foxcatcher tells the story of Olympic gold-medal winning wrestlers and brothers Dave and Mark Schultz and their complex, tragic relationship with their benefactor/abuser, wrestling enthusiast John du Pont (Steve Carell, under heavy prosthetic makeup). Ruffalo plays Dave Schultz, the older, more famous brother, with Channing Tatum playing Mark.

Foxcatcher received plaudits for Bennett Miller's direction, E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman's screenplay, and Carell, Tatum, and Ruffalo's performances. Carell and Ruffalo were nominated for Academy Awards, Ruffalo's second.

"The hypnotic and haunting Foxcatcher can prove its worth as one of the year's very best films. Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo give the performances of their lives." —Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Ruffalo's breakout role came in this indie drama from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan. He plays Terry Prescott, the wayward brother of single mother Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney), who comes back into her life and develops a transformative relationship with her son Rudy (Rory Culkin).

Critics adored the film for its complex emotional tenor, brought to life through Linney and Ruffalo's nuanced performances. It was a small film that made a big impact. Linney and Lonergan were nominated for Academy Awards, and Ruffalo kickstarted his career with the kind of sensitive blue-collar role that became his calling card. Ruffalo and his family settled in the Catskills after filming You Can Count on Me.

"It's a movie about having a sibling and all of the pain, joy, love and anxiety that that entails: a movie, in other words, for almost everyone." —Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star in Lisa Cholodenko's dramedy as a lesbian couple with two teenage children. The family unit is upended when their kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) decide to seek out a relationship with their biological father, Paul (Ruffalo), who was an anonymous sperm donor.

With its observant perspective on relationships and its groundbreaking depiction of two women in a long-term relationship, critics thought the film was more than all right. Ruffalo earned his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in the film. It earned four nominations overall, including Best Picture.

"Mark Ruffalo, in just the right amount of stubble, grease and leather, plays Paul, about as cool an instant dad as a SoCal kid named Laser could hope for." —Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

In Yorgos Lanthimos' oddball Victorian-era sex comedy, Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, who was created by a mad scientist when he put a baby's brain in an adult woman's body. As Bella grows up, she begins to explore her sexuality, and learns how to deal with men who want to control her. One of those men is Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo), a lecherous lawyer who prizes carnal pleasure over everything.

Poor Things received recognition for everything from its exquisite production design to its big but emotionally grounded performances, with critics praising Ruffalo for playing against type in an entertaining way. This is his most recent Academy Award-nominated performance.

"But this acting excellence is true throughout the entire cast. Most notable is Ruffalo, who gets to be a gleefully evil cad, a childish adult who is only motivated by his whims. Ruffalo is hysterical in a way he's never been before, a mustache-twirly villain of sorts whose every line of irritation and anxiety only makes us like him less, and yet, still want more of him." —Ross Bonaime, Collider

Jim Carrey is Joel, a man who decides to undergo an experimental procedure to have all of his memories of his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased. But as he gets deep into the procedure, he realizes he doesn't want to forget her, and he and his memory of Clementine try to escape into the hidden corners of his mind. Ruffalo has a supporting role as Stan, a technician who is in a doomed relationship with receptionist Mary (Kirsten Dunst)—though Stan doesn't know it's doomed.

Eternal Sunshine became instantly critically beloved, with particular praise going to Charlie Kaufman's brilliant script, director Michel Gondry's visionary imagery, and the performances of the whole cast (though Winslet in particular). Retrospectively, many critics consider it to be one of the best movies of the 2000s, and even one of the best of all time. 

"Gondry's virtuosity lifts the film far past science fiction into cinematic efflorescence. He shows us, more seductively than other directors have done, how freehand use of film can capture the flashes in our minds that slip between words." —Stanley Kauffman, The New Republic

It's the greatest of Ruffalo's seeker-of-justice roles. He plays Michael Rezendes, an investigative reporter on the Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team reporting a story about the Catholic Church covering up sexual abuse of children by priests for decades. He's part of an excellent ensemble that also includes Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams, but he has the film's most memorable line: "They knew, and they let it happen!" 

Critics shone their light on Spotlight for its somber, tightly controlled writing, procedural pacing, and terrific performances. Among the cast, Ruffalo was particularly praised for his performance as the film's emotional core, culminating in his aforementioned outburst of righteous anger. He earned his third Academy Award nomination for his intense performance. 

"One of the reasons that Spotlight is so deeply, absurdly satisfying to this newspaper writer — is that Tom McCarthy's movie doesn't turn its journalists into heroes. It just lets them do their jobs, as tedious and critical as those are, with a realism that grips an audience almost in spite of itself." —Ty Burr, Boston Globe