Mark Ruffalo’s son, Keen, is officially making his Hollywood debut in a big way.
The 25-year-old aspiring actor has landed the role of Connor Jacobson in Amazon Prime’s new coming-of-age drama Sterling Point, which dropped all eight episodes on Wednesday.
Keen Ruffalo Turns to Acting After College Burnout
Keen opened up about his unexpected path into acting during a Friday appearance on the Today show, revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in his decision to pursue a new career.
Before acting, Keen was studying fashion design in college. But after starting his freshman year just as the pandemic hit, he eventually dropped out.
“It was around Covid and it got to that point where everyone was really burning out being inside,” Keen explained to co-hosts Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer, and Craig Melvin.
“I was starting my freshman year of college just before Covid happened and I was going for fashion designer originally and I dropped out not long after. We ended up separating for Covid.”
Keen said he struggled during that period and ultimately realized he needed a change.
“I got the Covid depression, as many people did. And I needed the change. I saw that acting made my dad so happy and I was like, ‘Listen, I need to try something new.’”
Mark Ruffalo Was Supportive — But Had Questions
Naturally, Keen had one pretty famous person to turn to for advice: his dad.
The Oscar-nominated actor supported his son’s decision to pursue acting, though he apparently wanted to make sure Keen knew exactly what he was getting himself into.
“He was definitely supportive but he was like, ‘You sure you want to do this?’” Keen recalled.
© Monica Schipper/GAAt the time, Keen had very little acting experience. His biggest credit was a small appearance as an extra in Thor: Ragnarok, where Mark played Bruce Banner and the Hulk.
And getting his first major role certainly didn't happen overnight. Keen told Cultured Magazine that he went through roughly 100 auditions before finally landing Sterling Point.
What Is Sterling Point About?
The Amazon Prime series centers on 17-year-old Annie Jacobson and her twin brother, Connor, who have been raised by their single father in New York City.
Their lives take a major turn when they discover they've inherited a remote island in Canada from their estranged grandfather.
For Keen, booking the role still feels somewhat surreal.
“It doesn’t feel real still. Definitely didn’t think this is where I’d be in August,” he said. “It’s a good place to be. I’m happy to be here. This is crazy.”
Keen Has Already Picked Up Dad’s Improv Skills
It looks like Keen may have inherited more than Mark Ruffalo’s famous mane.
The younger actor revealed that he relied heavily on improvisation while filming Sterling Point, something his dad has also been known to embrace — particularly in comedy and Marvel movies.
Mark previously said much of his work with Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Ragnarok was improvised, explaining that the pair naturally played off each other well.
Keen appears to have developed a similar approach on set.
“I improvised quite a lot of it, all the bathtub stuff, yeah,” he said on Today.
He even managed to crack up the director of photography during the first take of one scene.
“I actually made our [director of photography] break on the first take of that and I heard her laughing and we had to reshoot the scene.”
Keen explained that he initially sticks closely to the script before loosening up.
“I do it clean lines for a few times and then we kind of have fun with it and they just let me go.”
