Mark Ruffalo Reveals the Actor He Competed With For His Breakout ‘You Can Count on Me’ Role

Mark Ruffalo cemented himself in Hollywood with his role in 2000′s You Can Count on Me. However, it turns out that he wasn’t the first choice for the part.

During a recent podcast appearance, the 56-year-old Poor Things actor revealed that he was “literally begging” director Kenneth Lonergan for a chance to audition for the role.

However, at the time there was another actor that had been offered the part. Mark revealed the star that he was competing with and how he managed to get his way.

While on the Smartless podcast, Mark explained that Ethan Hawke had been offered the part. However, he didn’t want to accept it.

Mark recalled the conversation with Ethan, with him saying, “I just did this other thing that’s basically the same character, so it’s good, bro – it’s not for me right now” (via The Wrap).

After finding out, Mark asked Logan to see the script, but there were concerns that he wasn’t right for the part.

The actor was persistent and managed to land an audition. When he went in, he said that Logan was reluctantly impressed. “That was really good. Godd-mmit,” he recalled the director saying. “You might be good in this part.”

The rest was history!

If you missed it, Mark recently revealed why he smacked a fellow actor.