Though Mark Ruffalo had been nominated for an Oscar three times before Poor Things hit movie theaters last year, Robert Downey Jr’s nomination for Oppenheimer may be more momentous, simply because it has felt like his time. But there was another year in which both men starred in a movie together that could have –and probably should have – led to nominations for each. That year would have been the 2007-2008 movie awards season, and the movie was a little David Fincher movie called Zodiac.
The Story Behind Zodiac's Release
If you’ve seen Zodiac, you should know that it’s a bit of a mindf–k. The movie is about the investigation into the infamous real-life Zodiac Killer from the perspective of those working in in news and in the San Francisco Police Department. Downey Jr plays a journalist who becomes more paranoid and troubled as the case wears on; Ruffalo is a detective with his own troubles; he can’t even sit through Dirty Harry. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the cartoonist with enough stick-to-it-ness to maybe pull out an answer, but the movie itself was relatively ignored by the Academy when it came out early in 2007 ahead of the 2008 awards season.
Looking back, it’s one of my favorite performances from Downey Jr. ever and some solid work from Ruffalo, but when the 2008 nominations rolled around, neither were on it. Instead, the Best Supporting Actor award went to Javier Bardem for No Country For Old Men. (Even if both Zodiac stars had been nominated he probably still deserved it.) His fellow nominees, however, were: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson’s War, Hal Holbrook for Into The Wild and Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton. Some great choices there, but are all of them better than what Zodiac put forth?
In fact, the film was completely shut out of the Oscars conversation.
At the time Robert Downey Jr. was lauded for his performance. There were plenty of “For Your Consideration”types of articles written about him playing Paul Avery in the film and it’s a bit frustrating he didn’t ultimately land a nomination. (Though he has landed noms for Chaplin and Tropic Thunder). Mark Ruffalo was less in that awards conversation, perhaps because he was playing a character oft outwitted in the film, though he was doing no less interesting work. He’d also notably had trouble landing the role, saying the studio rep literally told his rep “we don’t give a shit about Mark Ruffalo” and to “take what we’re offering or forget it.”
2007 Mark Ruffalo was getting no respect. Which is why this year’s Poor Things and Oppenheimer face off is a nice full circle moment.
Mark Ruffalo And Robert Downey Jr’s Both Got Their Due With Oscar Nominations In 2024
It’s been a big year for both actors, though Robert Downey Jr is the odds-on favorite to win Best Supporting Actor at the 96th Annual Academy Awards for his turn in Oppenheimer (our review). Mark Ruffalo’s turn as a rake, however, has been one of the biggest and most delightful surprises to come out of the 2023 movie release season, with our Poor Things review noting he’s “almost stealing the show." The two have been joined in the Best Supporting Actor category by Ryan Gosling as Ken in the Barbie movie, Sterling K. Brown’s turn in American Fiction, and Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon.
Sterling K. Brown’s already spoken about being “fine” with it not being his time to land a Best Supporting win. Even Mark Ruffalo has said he wants to see his fellow nominee win, telling British GQ that even though he’s been nominated for The Kids Are Alright, Spotlight and Foxcatcher and has never won an Oscar, this year's race is probably not one he was meant to clinch.
I really want Robert to win an Oscar. I mean, I’d like to win one too, but I would celebrate him.
The two know each other well, having worked on Zodiac and later a slew of Marvel films that kept each of them busy for a decade or longer. (Ruffalo’s Hulk was most recently seen in episodes of What If? and She-Hulk). If the two had managed to be nominated prior, it’s still unlikely either of them would have been handed the win, as Zodiac was seen as anxiety-inducing David Fincher fodder at the time it came out and, despite solid reviews, has only in the time since really started to shine in the way it has deserved. This year, it’s possible that Downey Jr. will land the coveted trophy, and he only had to wait a few decades in order to do so.
If things had played out differently, the 2024 Oscar nominations could have been a repeat of the 2008 list, a standoff between two supporting actors once more. Instead, it’s the first time the two will face off, and I’ll just say: it’s long overdue.
