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RELATED LINKS

• Newsweek article on Mr. Ruffalo
• Collateral official site
• We Don't Live Here Anymore official site
• Mr. Ruffalo on All the Kings Men and Zodiac
• Mr. Ruffalo's bio

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Tavis: OK, if you're a friend of Mark Ruffalo's, and he hasn't returned your phone call in a while, he has a really, really good excuse. He's been really busy. The talented actor who had a breakout role in the film "You Can Count On Me," that is, has been in 3 acclaimed films this summer. "13 going on 30," which includes a memorable dance scene with Jennifer Garner; "Collateral" with Tom Cruise--on this program last night, as you know, with Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett Smith; and his latest film, "We Don't Live Here Anymore." Mark is also an executive producer of this film, which includes Laura Dern, Peter Krause, and Naomi Watts. Here now, a scene from Mark Ruffalo's latest movie. Busy guy. "We Don't Live Here Anymore."

Jack: I am not going anywhere.

Terry: It's fine, Jack. The kids'll be fine, you know. If you're suffering, if this is such a disappointment...

Jack: What are you really worried about, Terry?

Terry: Other husbands touch their wives.

Jack: Do you see Hank fondling Edith every second?

Terry: Hank doesn't love her. He told me when you were out.

Jack: He said that to you?

Terry: Yeah.

Jack: Oh, yeah?

Terry: Yeah.

Jack: Why? Why'd he tell you that?

Terry: He told--I--I don't know. He just said it.

Jack: Well, what were you guys doing? He just blurted that out? Seems odd.

Terry: We were talking. How else do people tell each other things?

Jack: Well, usually when people say things like that, they're doing other things.

Tavis: "We were just talking, Mark. We were just talking."

Mark Ruffalo: "We were, uh, uh, we were just talking."

Tavis: Yeah, you weren't buying that, were you?

Ruffalo: No, I didn't buy that.

Tavis: You weren't buying that? Nice to see you, man.

Ruffalo: You, too.

Tavis: Thanks for coming on. I started this joke about how busy you've been. I know your friends must be really disappointed in you not returning phone calls.

Ruffalo: Yeah, I asked if you'd talked to them.

Tavis: No, I hadn't talked to them. I just assumed that 'cause you really have it busy. I'm glad you had time to come see us, even.

Ruffalo: Oh, no, this is great. I'm glad to be here, thanks.

Tavis: Um, why so busy? I mean, why do you choose to do so many movies? Why so busy, Mark?

Ruffalo: Well, you always feel like, all my years of bartending and struggling as an actor here in L.A., you know, when the parts finally come?

Tavis: Gotta get it while you can.

Ruffalo: It's like a starving man, you know, and you feel like you gotta make your bones while they're still giving you the parts.

Tavis: Here's a silly question. What did you learn from bartending that has held you steadfast, helps you in any sort of way with what you do now, now that you are a real, true, moneymaking actor?

Ruffalo: Um...that sorta toughened me up, that experience. I was working in-- well, one pretty rough-and-tumble bar at the time, a place called Smalls, and it was tough in there, and I was coming from the theater, kind of this artistic, kind of mellow, soft kind of guy, and that toughened me up, and it just kind of made my skin a little bit tougher.

Tavis: So you were artistic in how you made your drinks?

Ruffalo: Yeah. An umbrella...and, but, you know, a few bar fights later, and, you know, people threatening your life, and then, all of a sudden, you're like, you're just throwing the fruit in there, you know?

Tavis: So it toughened you up a little bit?

Ruffalo: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tavis: What about...let me rephrase this. When you started getting all these movie offers, all these scripts start coming your way--we were joking earlier about how busy you've been...is there a danger in taking anything and everything because you are afraid that this might not last? You gotta get it while you can, so then you start doing anything and everything that comes your way, and you're really not being picky and choosy about establishing and building and growing the kind of career and the body of work that you can be proud of. Maybe I'm in too deep. I don't know. Help me out here.

Ruffalo: No, I think that's good. Um...you know, I say kind of as a joke that I take in everything, but I've also turned down a lot of really, really big kind of high-profile things, and just not because I don't want to be successful or do big things, but just 'cause, you know, what's really worked for me up to this point is just kind of going where my heart has led me, and I read something, and something gets going inside me and says, "I have to do this part, and I have something to offer with this part," or it speaks to some part of my life or...and that's kind of been the rule of thumb, and because of it, I think it's led me--it's led my career in really different places, too, you know, and it's made a really kind of broad sort of spectrum of the type of roles that I could play.

Tavis: Your friend Tom Cruise on this program last night, and Mr. Cruise and I had a fascinating little exchange where he made me very, very much aware that he had never lost money on a single film for any studio in this city. Can you say the same thing?

Ruffalo: I have only lost money for studios in every movie that I have done.

Tavis: That money--"lost money for every movie that I've been in," but they keep calling you back.

Ruffalo: Yeah, they keep calling me. Well, you know, I don't know. I was thinking--I saw that, and I was thinking, "I wonder if I've made them any money." I haven't really...I haven't carried a picture like he has. That's such a huge responsibility, and I'm a little scared of it, personally. I've been able to sort of come in, do my work, play some great characters and then leave at the end of the day. Tom's going off for a week, now, to promote that movie all over, you know, the world, and that's heavy on his shoulders.

Tavis: You a little-- how can I put this? You a little scared of what fame might bring? 'Cause you know, you keep doing this stuff...even though you're picky and choosey, I think as you should be about the roles you take, you keep doing the stuff that you're doing, the kind of work you're doing, you keep distinguishing yourself, one day, you're gonna be really, really big.

Ruffalo: Maybe. I mean, you know--

Tavis: One day you'll be making money for studios.

Ruffalo: Exactly. Maybe. You know, I don't know. I'm always scared that the jig will be up and they'll find me out and no one will ask me back to the game. But I love my sort of anonymity, you know? I've really enjoyed that over the years. You know, a lot of the parts that I play, you can kind of see me hiding behind a costume, a look. So people for a long time haven't really recognized me. People are recognizing me from "Collateral."

Tavis: You know what's funny about that? I'm glad you said that. When you walked into the studio today--my first time meeting you--you looked a little different than what I expected, because you were rocking that hat the whole time in "Collateral."

Ruffalo: Yeah, that slicked-back--

Tavis: You had the slicked-back look around you.

Ruffalo: It looks like a helmet.

Tavis: Exactly. That's why I said hat. It looked like a helmet 'cause you had it all slicked back. And when you walked in then and I see your hair kind of flowing...little body, little bounce to your hairdo--I said, "That ain't Mark Ruffalo."

Ruffalo: That was hell getting it to stick down like that. That was like, you know, every night was a whole bottle of gel and someone, whoosh, you know, blowing it. But I've been able to hide, you know. And that's--I mean, I'm the type of actor who I like to--I get it from the streets, you know. I really pull from the life that's around me. I feel like I'm a reporter, you know? And when you get famous and people recognize you, you no longer can sort of walk into a room and watch in an objective sort of way.

Tavis: Speaking of walking into rooms--the title of this movie: "We Don't Live Here Anymore," we ain't living in this room anymore. I was fascinated and actually intrigued by this scene, this clip we showed earlier where you and Laura Dern are going at it. Now, by all accounts--I don't know you that well--by all accounts, you're very happily married and got a child. Where'd you learn to argue like that?

Ruffalo: Anyone--

Tavis: That was good. You were very good, very believable.

Ruffalo: Even in a happy marriage, you got to do some arguing. You know?

Tavis: Yeah.

Ruffalo: And I think that's kind of what the movie is--the movie catches typically a sort of...a couple who've been in a relationship for 10 years and loved each other and had kids and got married happily and had happy times and then just fallen into, like, disrepair and in crisis. And I think that that's really--anyone who's been in a long relationship has had those moments where things just get ugly. And I think it's part of the way of staying healthy is sort of letting things sort of blow up when they need to.

Tavis: I have a friend who says sometimes you got--how did he put it? You got to get down where you get mad.

Ruffalo: That's right. You've got to make some heat in that room. And I've had some bad relationships, too, man. A lot more bad ones than this good one.

Tavis: So this good one that you're in now is making up for all the bad ones?

Ruffalo: Oh, yeah, yeah. That's why we're married.

Tavis: Makes sense. "That's why I married her." Mark, nice to meet you.

Ruffalo: Yeah, you, too.

Tavis: Thanks for coming on. The movie is "We Don't Live Here Anymore," starring Mark Ruffalo. It's Ruff-alo. Just want you to know how to pronounce that correctly.

Ruffalo: It's like buffalo.

Tavis: There you go. Ruffalo like buffalo. But you're gonna be saying this name a lot in the years to come. Mark, nice to see you. All the best to you. That's our show for tonight. As always, you can catch me on the radio on NPR. I'll see you back here next time on PBS. Until then, thanks for watching. Good night from Los Angeles. And as always, keep the faith.