When considering the filmography of Mark Ruffalo, one thinks of his wonderfully naturalistic performances in projects as varied as You Can Count on Me, The Avengers, and The Kids Are All Right. You can add to that his early-career work in a skin-care TV commercial.
In a recent video conversation with Interstellar star Jessica Chastain — part of Variety's just-lauched "Actors on Actors" series — the 47-year-old actor reveals that his first paying acting gig was on a Clearasil commercial — which you can watch above.
In this 1989 spot, a young Ruffalo, wearing a luxuriously thick head of curly hair, is seen trying to hide his facial acne. But after he applies Clearasil DoubleClear pads he walks confidently — and with a pretty girl on his arm.
In fact, Ruffalo said he really did need to zap zap, double zap his zits. “I had terrible cystic acne in high school,” the Foxcatcher star tells his 37-year-old colleague during their on-camera chat. “[It] is a huge irony because people say, ‘Your skin is so great.’”
The young actor got his $30,000 for the Clearasil gig. And Ruffalo blew through it fast, with needless spending on things like dinner with friends. “I thought I had made it… That was it. The IRS was after me. It was a disaster,” he told Chastain. VIDEO
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