10 Movie Character Reveals Which Stopped You Dead
6. Teddy Daniels Was Really Andrew Laeddis - Shutter Island
How about another film where Mark Ruffalo wasn't what he seemed? In Shutter Island, though he appeared to arrive at Ashecliffe Hospital with Leonardo DiCaprio's U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, it was a long con, and he was lying about who he was literally from the very beginning to the very end.
Initially on screen as Chuck, Teddy's partner, Ruffalo's character was ultimately revealed to be a doctor on the island working with the seemingly villainous Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) all along. However, the twist didn't stop there, as DiCaprio's Marshall was actually the patient of Ruffalo's Dr. Sheehan.
Edward Daniels was in truth Andrew Laeddis, the criminally insane and incredibly dangerous man who killed his own wife after she drowned their three children, before he created the U.S. Marshall alter ego as something of a coping mechanism. The role playing was something Dr. Sheehan and Dr. Cawley came up with as a last ditch effort to make a breakthrough with Laeddis before ultimately seeing him sent for a lobotomy.
As a twist, this is almost the antithesis to that of Now You See Me. Whereas Ruffalo's turn as Dylan Rhodes made no sense, you could watch through Shutter Island a second time and see countless clues to the truth now that you knew it. They were all there the first time, and that's what makes it so damn good.