The Marvel Cinematic Universe main cast are so iconic that it's hard to imagine anyone other than Mark Ruffalo playing The Hulk.
But in the case of the Big Green Guy, Mark didn't even play the raging green giant and his science-whiz alter-ego until their second appearance in 2012's The Avengers.
While Ruffalo is a big comic book fan, and at the time was a rising star from indie movies, he almost said no when director Joss Whedon and star Robert Downey Jr tried to convince him to sign up.
Related: Marvel's Mark Ruffalo reveals what he'd change about the MCU
Speaking to Variety, the actor said he was worried about the acting with motion-capture aspect, stating: "I did try to talk them out of casting me. I said, 'I don't know if I'm the right guy, I've never done anything like this.' Between Joss and Robert, they were pretty convincing that I could do it.
"I was scared. I was really scared. I'm still scared. The technological aspect of it makes it really hard to work that way. I struggle with it all the time.
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"But my motto is make fear your friend. Just keep pushing yourself into those places where you feel scared or challenged."
With Avengers: Endgame done and dusted, the future of the Hulk in the MCU is uncertain, but there are a few possibilities Ruffalo is more than up for.
Related: GLOW star talks Marvel fan campaign for her to play She-Hulk on Disney+
"There's some talk of having Banner/Hulk show up in She–Hulk (on Disney+)," he said. "If we come up with something good, that would be really interesting. Right now that's about it. That's all there is on the table."
He also talked about maybe doing a solo movie, stating: "There's an idea that I think could be really interesting. We’ve never really followed him into his life. He's always kind of off on the side. He’s like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the Avengers.
"It'd be interesting to fill in all the blanks about what happened to him in between all these movies."
Avengers: Endgame is out now on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D, 4K and digital download, and is available on Disney+.
Disney+ Watch the MCU on Disney+
Abrams Books The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry
Marvel Studios Marvel Phase 1-3 complete set Blu-ray
![Avengers: Endgame 4K Includes Bonus Disk [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1565171628-51DyZnkLD7L.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Avengers: Endgame 4K Includes Bonus Disk [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]")
Disney/Marvel Studios Avengers: Endgame 4K Includes Bonus Disk [Blu-ray] [2019] [Region Free]
![Avengers: 1-4 Complete Blu-ray Boxset Includes Bonus Disk [2019] [Region Free]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1565171833-51x6a0eLuRL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Avengers: 1-4 Complete Blu-ray Boxset Includes Bonus Disk [2019] [Region Free]")
Disney/Marvel Studios Avengers: 1-4 Complete Blu-ray Boxset Includes Bonus Disk [2019] [Region Free]
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
