Albert Ferreira, Paramount Pictures/Associated PressClick photo for larger image.
Listen to excerpts from Mark Ruffalo's conversation with Patricia Sheridan.
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Ruffalo, 39, talks about fatherhood, running from the law and his role as real-life detective Dave Toschi in the movie "Zodiac," the story of San Francisco's most notorious serial killer. "Zodiac" opened Friday across the country. He and his wife Sunrise Coigney are parents to a boy, 5, and a girl, 2.
Q: When you first started out, what kind of actor did you envision yourself being?
A: A great one (laughing). A character actor pretty much, I guess, you know? What I hoped to be was someone who was versatile. That had longevity.
Q: Do you ever think of yourself as leading-man material?
A: You know, everyone wants to think of themselves as leading-man material
(Laughing). I didn't particularly love my looks. I thought I could be a leading man or play one anyway somewhere along the way.
Q: You don't strike me as the type who was drawn in by the limelight. Is that true?
A: Yeah, that's the least appealing part of the business for me. I'm kind of a shy person. I'm most comfortable in small groups of people. I've had the same friends for years and years and years. I got into it because I wasn't a good painter.
Q: A painter? As in a house painter or an artist?
A: As an artist. I wanted to be an artist, but you know, it was the art form that I felt like I could do something in, you know?
Q: In "Zodiac" you really became this 1970s-kind-of cop. But you really embodied the '70s.
A: Part of my training was that we were to go and do as much work into the period and the politics of that time and the kind of social scene, the cultural scene. So I tried to do that.
Q: So, you were running around listening to "Band on the Run"?
A:Well, I was given an iPod that had all the music from the '70s that you could imagine (laughing). Yeah, I mean, I still have the '70s in my memory. I was given some video images of Dave Toschi at that time. A picture starts to emerge of the quality of that time. The rhythm of that time. The way it sounded. The way people talked.
Q: As research for the role you spent time with Dave Toschi, the real detective. How does that work?
A: I watch a lot. I listen a lot. I try to get the person talking. You want the person to be as relaxed as possible. You try to spend a lot of time. You don't just pop in for an hour and talk to them, you know? So I went to his work and spent two days in a row with him. He's now the head of resources at a security firm.
Q: Did you stay on the right side of the law growing up?
A: (laughing) No, no. I was not what you would call a model citizen growing up. I mean I didn't get into serious trouble, but, you know, I was definitely breaking the law. I was running from the police as a young person. But, I mean, these days with all the laws almost anything a kid wants to do is breaking the law (laughing). I mean, back then it was illegal to skateboard, so I was already an outlaw (laughing).
Q: Do you plan to get involved with the 2008 presidential campaign?
A: If there's a place for me to be there, yeah, I would get involved. I feel a responsibility to do that. I have a disproportionate amount of ability to speak to people. So frankly, I feel like America has been hijacked by a very small group of radical people, who really want to change the way America is governed. I haven't thrown my hand anywhere because I haven't really heard where people really are on the issues.
Q: I was going to ask if there is a candidate whom you like right now?
A: We are just starting to get into the issues a little bit. I just don't have a clear view of who I want yet. We've gotten into some snickie little in-fighting stuff. The color of people, what gender they are -- it just isn't what the issues are about. The whole world is way ahead of us on that.
Q: Does acting lend itself to being a family man?
A: In ways, more so than probably many other jobs. I'm actually able to spend long stretches with my kids when I'm not working (laughing), when I'm looking for a job. Actors I think can be a little more goofy and be pretty playful. I know that we have a lot of fun, me and my children.
Q: So when you are on location do they ...
A: They'll come with me. I try not to disrupt their lives too much. I try to keep a balance. I'm going to Serbia for three months, and they are going to come for a month. Then I will try to pop back every couple of weeks. I think it's good for them. I can see it's good for them.
First Published: March 5, 2007, 5:00 a.m.
