Aimee Walker
Mark Ruffalo’s tragic life just keeps getting sadder and sadder.
Ruffalo, 55, is an award-winning actor who is known for films such as Now You See Me, Shutter Island and 13 Going on 30.
As well as being known for his acting career, the Dark Waters star is also known for his political activism on humanitarian, environmental, and mental health issues.
And while there’s no arguing that Ruffalo has found huge success, he’s also faced tragedy.
Find out what Mark Ruffalo kept secret in the clip below…
It turns out that the beloved Hollywood star has gone through some dark chapters in his life.
Ruffalo tells The Observer that ‘people are so afraid of mental illness’ and that it’s something he’s been ‘struggling with his whole life’.
He adds: “It’s like a low-grade depression that just is running all the time in the background.”
The Marvel star also admits that during his childhood, he was embarrassed by his ambitions to become an actor.
When chatting with the Child Mind Institute, he said he felt ‘strange, unique and freakish’ during his school years.
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Ruffalo has also opened up about experiencing suicidal thoughts, acknowledging that one of his closest friend’s suicide served as a ‘rock’ to get him out of his own depression.
“When he died, it rocked me out of a dark depression,” he recalls.
“The moment he left, I realised that death wasn’t an escape, that suicide wasn’t an answer.”
Although Ruffalo managed to get through this dark chapter, he faced even more heartbreak in 2001 when he was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma – a brain tumour.
While the tumour turned out to be benign, the operation to remove it resulted in the loss of hearing in his left ear, as well as one side of his face becoming completely paralysed.
He was then forced to take a break from his work and social life.
Following the operation, Ruffalo says he also gained two stone in weight and his prescribed drugs resulted in a loss of balance.
Recalling keeping his condition a secret, the Spotlight actor says (via Express): “I didn’t want any visitors.
“I was so unbelievably miserable, and what was worse was people’s reactions to seeing me. It was shattering to them.”
To help cope with all his lingering health conditions, Ruffalo ended up turning to meditation.
He explains: “It’s pretty much a daily practise that quiets your brain and oddly enough, actually slows down time, so you’re not so much trapped in your immediate reactions to things.
“My work started to change, my luck started to change. The way the world looked to me changed.”
But things took an even darker turn for Ruffalo in 2008 when he experienced a family tragedy.
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Ruffalo’s brother, Scott, was shot in the head while in his own home and to this day, no arrests or charges have been made.
Opening up about the unsolved case, The Adam Project star says: “It’ll always be the great mystery of my life.
“I make peace with every mystery in my life, you just live alongside it.”
It is admirable how Ruffalo has overcome all of these tragedies in his life and shows how he truly is an inspirational guy.
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