Beyond the MCU – Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo get candid about acting, nudity, and MCU dialogues

The much loved Marvel stars remember about their first work together in David Fincher's Zodiac, then reunite for Marvel Cinematic Universe

Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo

It's been sixteen years since Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo have collaborated in Zodiac, which was their first film together. The film follows Robert Graysmith, a skilled cartoonist with a keen eye for detail, who couldn't shake off the perplexing case of the Zodiac Killer. The enigmatic nature of the crimes and the taunting messages left behind by the elusive murderer ignited an insatiable curiosity within him. His mind, accustomed to solving intricate puzzles, found itself drawn to the labyrinthine enigma that was the Zodiac Killer. As the case unfolded, Graysmith's fascination transformed into an all-consuming obsession. His days and nights were consumed by deciphering cryptic codes, analysing clues, and poring over every minute detail of the investigations. The boundaries between his profession and his personal life blurred as he relentlessly pursued the identity of the killer.

Zodiac has garnered critical acclaim, along with several prodigious accolades, and Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo also garnered much appreciation.

Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo's first Marvel film together

Later after six years, in 2012, the duo reunited, that too for Marvel Cinematic Universe. Robert and Mark first worked in The Avengers, then one by one several other Marvel films. Hence the duo is quite close with each other now. While Robert’s last film was Oppenheimer, Mark’s last film was Poor Things in 2023.

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The duo's getting candid about their roles with Variety

Recently the duo has come together, and got candid about their friendship, works, experiences working in Marvel, their personal lives, and more. While talking about their David Fincher-directorial, they shared that they had a wild ride back in 2007. Ruffalo shared, “He (Fincher) invented the delete button. There was no delete button ever in digital cinema and he specifically had it invented so that he could say, “We’re going to delete takes 1 through 45” and you’re just like, “No, no, no, no! Thirty-eight was my baby!”

While talking about their recent films, Ruffalo gave a congratulatory speech on Oppenheimer’s success. “We see a total character, a physical change, a vocal change, a different kind of guy. None of the mannerisms of anything that we’d ever seen before that you had perfected and had become so second nature to you”, he said.

To that speech, Robert shared, “Look, all I know is, I got a call. Chris Nolan. I went over to his house. It was black type on red paper, you know, when they send it like that so you can’t copy it. And I left there just knowing I was going to do it.”

The exciting part about the interview

The interesting part of this interview was when Robert Downey Jr. called Mark Ruffalo’s nude scene in the film Poor Things “the ultimate risk” for an actor. To that, Mark replied that he was also not very confident about the scene. “I was like, 'Do I have to?.” Mark said, “All I can hear is, 'Nobody wants to see your old a-- anymore. Maybe you shouldn’t be doing movies like that anymore.' I mean, it’s my least favorite part of it, but I also saw it as an extension of the physical comedy that we were already finding. So it was just another way to tell the story.

Watch the whole interview here:

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