Long before the Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo Having once worn Bruce Banner’s purple pants (both in the digital world and in real life), he’s known for pursuing truly interesting and diverse roles in film, television, and theater. The trend continues to this day, with Ruffalo starring in poor thing. Ruffalo spoke to NPR about comedy acting and the merits (and major challenges) of performing Marvel characters in a motion-capture suit in front of a green screen.
Ruffalo points out that comedy often allows actors to improvise parts of their routines… including other embarrassing bodily functions. He explains: “I found that in comedy you have to be very open-minded about your performance. […] If you’re into comedy, accidents are the target. These are gifts from God. have [a] The moment in the movie when Duncan farts [the character] Max McCandless comes in to confront him. It was like a proxy god had just filled my stomach with gas. I was like, let’s do it! Great comedy is spontaneous, funny stuff. The same thing happens with drama, but people behave much better in the presence of drama.
“As an actor, you learn to love costumes. You learn to hide behind the props, you learn to blend in and get lost in the world.
While most of us would love to be able to play one of the world’s most beloved superheroes, Ruffalo admits it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, especially when filming in a form-fitting motion capture suit. Motion capture suits can draw inspiration from actors. He said: “It’s the most embarrassing thing in the world. Over time, I used to make a little loincloth for it because it was so immodest. It’s the most fragile thing in the world. Being a Actors, you learn to love costumes. You learn to hide behind the props, you learn to blend in and get lost in the world.
Ruffalo points out, however, that acting on a green screen has close parallels with theater training. he explained. “But when you’re in a green screen – it’s just you, you’re naked, it’s all your imagination, you have to put things in there that aren’t there. You have to deal with people who aren’t there. You have to use what’s not there props. That’s how it was in the beginning. But you know what I discovered? With all my theater training, you’re in a black box. You have to really use your imagination to transform that place into a forest or a castle or a desolate landscape… So in a lot of ways, this ancient technology that I’m familiar with is actually doing it for the new modern things that are happening. Well prepared.
