Mark Ruffalo Reveals He Wore a Corset and ‘Ass Pad’ in ‘Poor Things’
Mark Ruffalo revealed he wore a corset and padding to achieve his look in his latest film, Poor things.
“Did you know I had a butt pad in?” Ruffalo, 56, narrated Robert Downey Jr. during the Monday, December 4 episode of Variety‘Actors on Actors’ series. “My legs were about four inches bigger. My calf was four [inches]. He really wanted the silhouette. So I wore a corset with shoulder pads, so I was so squeezed in.”
The historical fantasy comedy directed by Yorgos Lanthimosfollows a young woman (Emma Stone) after being brought back to life by a scientist. She quickly runs off with a hedonistic lawyer, played by Ruffalo.
While corsets and padding may sound intense, the actor said his Poor things costume was initially supposed to be more detailed.
“It was even more extreme. [Lanthimos] I wanted me to look like a bird, so I had a fully built-out brisket that never made it because it was just too much,” Ruffalo explained. “But the big butt pads, the leg pads, the thigh pads, the calf pads, they all played. So if you look at that and think, ‘Wow, he looks great’ – you know, I was just wearing what the Avengers wear, but under my clothes.
Mark Ruffalo
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Tribeca FestivalIn addition to all the extra layers, Ruffalo also went nude for a sex scene early in the film.
“I thought, ‘Should I do that?’ All I hear is: ‘Nobody wants to see your old ass anymore. Maybe you shouldn’t make films like that anymore,” he joked. “I mean, it’s my least favorite part of it, but I also saw it as very comedic and also an extension of the physical comedy that we were already finding. So it was just a different way to tell the story.”
Mark Ruffalo
Moviestore collection/cover imagesDowney — who was friends with Ruffalo for decades before starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise — confirmed that the actor doesn’t like seeing his body on the big screen.
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“I just want to say this too, because I’ve known you forever, on one of these Avengers movies, you took off your shirt and you were in really good shape,” the Iron Man actor, 58, recalled. “And the director said, ‘We got it.’ You say, “Oh, can I please stop dieting and exercising now?” There is no one I have ever encountered who is more anxious not to be vain beyond the point where it is necessary to put an end to their work.”
When Ruffalo asked, “Was that a compliment?” Downey assured him it was, adding, “But I gotta say, you look pretty badass, in case you were wondering.”
Poor things will hit theaters on Friday, December 8.