Mark Ruffalo has worked with veteran director David Fincher alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal on the sets of the 2007 film Zodiac. While working with Fincher was an achievement for Ruffalo, the actor revealed his fair share of difficulties that came along with it.
When Edward Norton (another actor who worked with David Fincher in Fight Club) talked about his experience working with the director, he made sure to include Mark Ruffalo in the conversation. Here’s what happened when Fincher became obsessive with one particular scene and how Mark Ruffalo was readying himself to get fired!
When David Fincher Became Obsessed With Zodiac
Creating iconic movies, Fincher has always made movies that are out of the ordinary. With stories of violence, redemption, and, a suspense element, Fincher movies are one of the finest movies in Hollywood. The director’s career includes notable names such as Fight Club, Se7en, Zodiac, The Killer, and, more.
But for these great movies, Fincher has to become obsessed with his own movies as well. In an interview with Collider Extras, Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton shared their respective experiences of working with Fincher. Norton started the tale by how different the director was while they were making Fight Club (in the early ’90s) compared to when he was making Zodiac (early 2000s).
“And you [Mark Ruffalo] did like the first one [film] where he [David Fincher] was on digital and I was working with a mutual friend of ours in China and we were getting E-mails from Mark saying like ‘We just passed number 80 and I just heard him say like ‘erase the first 35’ or something like that and he was like in despair”
Mark Ruffalo yelped as people started laughing. While laughing, Ruffalo continued the conversation.
“There was one take we were like at take 85 and it was a big single and a walk-and-talk. Just like seven pages and I was-one of my first days of work and he started walking over to me.”
As the interview continued, the Avengers actor revealed that since it was his early days of shooting, he did not know how David Fincher worked. Being somewhat afraid of getting fired, Mark Ruffalo revealed that he was preparing himself for getting fired since he had a lot of self-doubt.
Mark Ruffalo Thought He Was Going To Get Fired!
As mentioned previously, Mark Ruffalo was telling his tale of how Fincher was walking towards him. Well, the Poor Things actor had no idea why, and thus, he imagined that he was going to get fired because he did not act well enough. What happened next is a testimony to David Fincher’s obsession with his shots!
“I thought to myself ‘You know what, they’re gonna have to pay me anyway. They got the wrong guy and I know they got the wrong guy and obviously he’s finally figured it out so it’s fine Mark, you did your best'”
He further continued,
“And then he walked right by me to the background guy behind me and he moved him like 2 inches and then he turned around and walked away. Patted me on the back as he went”
The interview continued with Ruffalo and the other actors being amazed by David Fincher’s determination to create good movies. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo in the lead role, Zodiac received a rating of 7.7/10 on IMDB and a whopping 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2007 film is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
