Mark Ruffalo Claims He Was Given A “Take It Or Leave It” Offer On ‘Zodiac’

Bruce Haring
·1 min read
11

Mark Ruffalo claims the producers of the Paramount Pictures serial killer drama Zodiac weren’t exactly ardent pursuers.

In the 2007 film, Ruffalo portrays a police officer who is narrowing in on the hunt for the notorious serial killer. Ruffalo’s track record wasn’t in that sort of role at the time.

More from Deadline

“Studios, they weren’t coming to me in that way,” Ruffalo told High Snobiety of his career at the time. “I’ll never forget when they were negotiating my deal [for ‘Zodiac’], the studio negotiator literally said to my manager, ‘Look, we don’t give a shit about Mark Ruffalo, we don’t even want Mark Ruffalo in this movie, so you’re going to take what we’re offering you or forget it.’”

The actor admitted to feeling typecast by his rom-com stints prior to Zodiac.

“What I felt immediately in the film world is, once you did one thing well, that’s what they think you are. They will just come to you with that part over and over again. And I was like, ‘No.’ My career is not going to be that. I’m going to do as much as I can to try and make people see me in different ways so that I can do more over the years.”

Ruffalo went on to get his wish, playing the Hulk in the Avengers films.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.