Mark Ruffalo felt a sense of responsibility making environmental movie ‘Dark Waters’.
The 52-year-old actor plays the role of lawyer Robert Bilott, who uncovered the DuPont chemical scandal in Virginia and waged war on the corporation, and he took it upon himself to tell this story because it’s important that the world knows what happened.
He told The Irish News: "We can entertain people but I also think if it’s done well and it’s done right, you can reach people with really important social, political, cultural messages – warnings. Anecdotal storytelling that can have a profound impact on decision-making, legislation, attitudes. It’s really important."
The Marvel Cinematic Universe star – who plays Bruce Banner and his angry alter ego the Hulk in the superhero movies – previously expressed how he wanted to make the film, which is based on the 2016 article ‘The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare’, as soon as he heard the story.
He explained: "I read an article in the New York Times Magazine and the breadth and the depth of the deception were so astonishing to me and the fact I was reading about in a supplement instead of the headline of every single major newspaper in the world, I thought, ‘This has got to be a movie and people have got to know what’s happened."
The film’s director, Todd Haynes, revealed that Ruffalo, who also serves as a producer on the project, was determined to get under the skin of his character.
He explained: "I think at this point in Mark’s career, he wants to bring his prestige, his impact as an actor, his talent, his passion to projects that have meaning to him and his life and his beliefs.
"But there was a pivoting point where he moved from being a producer on this movie to really being an actor on this movie and really committing himself to getting inside – and in my mind, utterly transforming into somebody we’ve never seen him play before, as Rob Bilott."
Mark Ruffalo felt responsibility in Dark Waters
