'He's got a wry sense of humor about himself,' actor tells MTV News at Tribeca Film Festival.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Mark Ruffalo at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of "Avengers"
Photo: Andrew H. Walker/ Getty Images

Of all the actors coming together to form the Avengers, Mark Ruffalo decidedly had the most to prove. After two previous Hulk films left fans largely unsatisfied, a new actor in the role could either lead to another letdown or, finally, to a version that felt true to the comics.

Fortunately for Ruffalo, early reviews of "The Avengers" overwhelming point to his version of Bruce Banner as one of the highlights of the film. MTV News caught up with Ruffalo at the closing-night ceremonies for the Tribeca Film Festival to get his take on the Hulk's positive reception and to find out what was different this time around.

Ruffalo felt the pressure that came with the role of the Hulk as soon as he signed on to be the third actor in as many films. "It was very daunting. I've never had a part so harshly reviewed before I even shot a single frame of film," he said. "The fanboys had a lot to say about it — granted, they had a great deal of care about this part and a lot of sentimentality as well, as do I, growing up on it."

The actor said that the latest technology gave him the biggest advantage over the first two iterations of the character. "There have been other great performances as Banner. The only real edge that I had was that the technology had changed so much since that last movie that I actually got to play the Hulk," Ruffalo said.

This latest version of the Hulk takes a different approach to the character, giving him a dry sense of humor about his condition, but Ruffalo gave credit to both Eric Bana and Edward Norton for helping lay the foundation in the first two films.

"I just think it's a natural progression of the other performances. When you find the guy at this point, he's tired of running. He's got a wry sense of humor about himself," Ruffalo said. "He's ready to turn and face the world. He's got a charming world-weariness that's kind of knocked the edges off of him and made him slightly more accessible."

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