A Mark Ruffalo Series Is One Of The Most Watched Things On Streaming
A Mark Ruffalo series is dominating streaming.
This article is more than 2 years old
Mark Ruffalo is one of the biggest stars in the world. His role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk in the wildly popular Marvel Cinematic Universe may have helped catapult him to even greater heights, but it is his non-superhero performances that deserve the most attention. Now, a recent series starring the actor is the most popular show on HBO in the United States.
The show is I Know This Much Is True, and it features Mark Ruffalo in two roles, twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey. It is based on Wally Lamb’s identically-titled 1998 novel, which became the Oprah Book Club’s featured pick for June 1998. The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance helmed the series, which centers around Dominick Birdsey as he fights to protect his brother, Thomas, from the perils paranoid schizophrenia can present.
I Know This Much Is True premiered on HBO on May 10, 2020 and ran until June 14, garnering positive reviews from critics. The six-episode miniseries proved to be a much-needed distraction in the early days of the pandemic and gave viewers yet another fantastic Mark Ruffalo performance.
The show’s resurgence on HBO may seem a bit random, especially considering the fact that the series came out almost a year ago. However, thanks to Netflix and the like, people are rediscovering old gems and underrated classics all the time. So it really is not that shocking that a year-old Mark Ruffalo show would be killing it on its original streaming home. Here’s to hoping even more people watch the show. It deserves far more love and attention than it ever got, and luckily it seems like others who have seen it are in agreement.
In addition to his performances in I Know This Much Is True and the Avengers movies, Mark Ruffalo is also known for starring alongside Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher, the romantic comedy 13 Going On 30, and the thrillers Zodiac and Shutter Island. He has obviously been in much more, but it would be too much to list every movie or show in which he has appeared. Let’s just say he is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and most prolific actors and call it a day.
It is worth noting that when Mark Ruffalo took over for Edward Norton and made his first Hulk appearance in 2012’s The Avengers, he immediately earned himself some serious critical acclaim for the role. Not only did he bring an incongruous mix of humility and rage to a performance that requires both, but he also brought Bruce Banner to life in a way that no one else had. Both Eric Bana and Edward Norton had portrayed the character very differently, and it was up to Ruffalo to sell his performance to audiences during an event movie that was years in the making. That had to have been so incredibly daunting, but Ruffalo played the Hulk with aplomb and was rewarded with praise and fame aplenty. Now, it is difficult to imagine Marvel recasting the role at all. Hopefully they don’t. Ruffalo is perfect for the role and should play the part for years to come. It looks like he will, too.
Mark Ruffalo has won numerous awards and nominations, including Oscar nominations for his roles in Foxcatcher, The Kids Are All Right, and Spotlight. He also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in I Know This Much Is True. And as if that weren’t enough, he also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a TV Movie for his role in the 2015 television drama film The Normal Heart.
In terms of what Mark Ruffalo has coming up next, he is set to appear in The Adams Project in 2022, as well as in Disney+’s She-Hulk television series (also out in 2020). Additionally, he will be lending his voice to Marvel’s 2021 animated anthology What If…? series. His contract with Marvel dictates that he appear in any movie or show featuring the Hulk, which he more than likely doesn’t mind.
If you have not watched I Know This Much Is True yet, you should absolutely get on that ASAP. If the critics are anyone to go by, then the show is 100% worth your time. Check it out!
