10 Best Mark Ruffalo Performances
6. Paul Hatfield - The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Scoring him his first of three well deserved Oscar nominations, Ruffalo stars in this groundbreaking and heartfelt comedy-drama as Paul Hatfield, a sperm donor who connects with his biological kids and their mothers Jules (Jullianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening).
The film is drama at its finest, but thanks to the award-winning performances of Ruffalo, Moore and Bening, is also deeply affecting, funny and romantic. After connecting with the kids, Paul starts an affair with Jules and finds his presence in the family's lives is disrupting their happiness. Paul is relaxed, happy-go-lucky and ignorant when it comes to Jules and Nic's relationship.
In the role, Ruffalo is firing on all cylinders, playing for laughs and gasps as he fractures the family dynamic and undermines Nic's parenting skills with reckless abandon. But underneath all his flaws, Ruffalo is still able to make Paul somewhat likeable and understanding, and as a whole he stands as one of the actor's most complex characters.