10 Casting Decisions Fanboys Rallied Against (But Ended Up Adoring)

10. Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner - The Avengers (2012)

All the hate that came Mark Ruffalo's way when it was announced that he'd be taking over from Edward Norton for Joss Whedon's super sequel The Avengers wasn't exactly directed at his acting chops or personality, but the simple fact that Marvel fans wanted Edward Norton to resume his role, because continuity! Ruffalo suddenly found himself on the end of all kinds of nerd-ish rants, many of which just seemed to be confused as to who he was. And yet, when everybody finally calmed down for long enough to take a seat in a movie theatre and stop pre-judging, they discovered something quite remarkable: Mark Ruffalo was The Hulk. I don't mean that people had no idea he was going to play the Hulk (duh), but that he embodied the character in all the right ways that other actors - including Ed Norton - had failed to. He was witty, self-deprecating, and yet still inherently tragic. Dare I say... perfect casting?
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All-round pop culture obsessive.