The truth about Mark Ruffalo’s sad story! From the loss of friends to a serious medical diagnosis
10. Anger Management
Since he played the Hulk in the movies, it might not be too surprising that Mark Ruffalo had some anger management issues in real life as well. It also isn’t shocking considering the frustration he dealt with when beginning his new acting career. We mentioned previously that he had auditioned hundreds of times for parts without ever attaining a significant role… but Ruffalo himself noted that it was between six and eight hundred times! That’s an insane amount. It’s safe to say anyone would be upset after a while. He told the New York Daily News, “You should have seen me in my twenties man… I was the poster definition of an angry young man… I was struggling as a young actor, suffering through imagined or real slights from other people’s hands.” He added, “…there was a time if you came into my apartment, there were pictures and posters hanging in very odd places where they were covering fist-holes through walls… Glasses had been thrown through, coffee mugs, books, whatever I could get a hold of.” Now we know his hard work paid off.
9. Health Issues
When things were finally looking up in Mark’s life, they went south pretty quickly. He had finally become a successful actor. He was in a happy marriage, and his wife had just given birth to their son. He later stated, “A few weeks after my son was born, I had a bad dream and woke up in tears. In the dream, I knew I had a brain tumor.” Mark said that the dream was so realistic that he went and got checked out. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a vestibular schwannoma, also called an acoustic neuroma. Mark had to undergo surgery to remove the tumor, which was thankfully benign. He said in an interview with the Acoustic Neuroma Association, “I was certain I was going to die. I made a tape for [my son], for when he was old enough to understand. Just saying, ‘Hey, this is who I am.’… I just had this fear of dying on the operating table. Luckily, they were able to remove the entire tumor and preserve his nerve.