Mark Ruffalo has been one of our premiere movie stars for countless years. From his stint as The Hulk in the MCU, to a string of iconic rom-coms, to prestige dramas like Spotlight and Zodiac, Ruffalo has truly done it all. This is why it didn’t come as a surprise to many when the Oscar nominee received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week. Many of his friends and former creative partners came out to support the actor receiving the honor, including Jennifer Garner, who couldn’t help but tease him in her speech. The two also danced to “Thriller,” recreating their iconic scene from 13 Going on 30. However, apparently this scene almost made Ruffalo quit the 2004 movie.
Mark Ruffalo seemed incredibly moved when accepting his Walk of Fame star, and all of the collaborators that honored him on the day. People gave funny speeches, and praised the Poor Things star for the incredible work he’s done throughout his Hollywood career. Jennifer Garner gave one of the most charming speeches about their experience, and even danced to “Thriller” with her co-star during the ceremony. Ruffalo posted a video from the moment, which quickly went viral on Instagram, and fans are loving the nostalgia. You can see his post below:
The dance is a reference to a moment from 13 Going on 30, when Garner’s Jenna Rink character hops on the dance floor at a boring office party to liven up the mood. She grooves to the iconic “Thriller” dance, and encourages Ruffalo’s Matty to do the dance with her. The moment is one of the most memorable, and Garner’s dress from the scene is a fan favorite. The outfit was even worn by Ariana Grande when she was judging on The Voice. However, apparently this scene almost broke Ruffalo, and the actor almost quit the movie when rehearsing it. Garner mentioned this in her speech for Ruffalo, where she questioned if any of his other rom-com co-stars had to experience the actor almost quitting a film. She said (via People):
I wonder if these esteemed ladies enjoyed Mark’s anxiety as much as I did. I wonder if he tried to drop out of their films, like he did out of ours after the first rehearsal of the ‘Thriller’ dance where Mark went from kind of shocked that we actually had to do this, to antsy, to deathly quiet, to ‘Bro, this is not for me.’
This is all clearly in good fun, as Ruffalo didn’t end up quitting the movie and went through with the dance. He’s probably happy he did, as 13 Going on 30 was somewhat of a star-making role for the Hulk actor, who went on to star in a number of rom-coms after the film’s release. Fans are also probably glad Ruffalo didn’t leave the film, because it’s hard to imagine anyone else in that part. He has the perfect mix of everyman, with a shy, but charming charisma that works perfectly for the Matty character. Additionally, his chemistry with Garner is one of the reasons 13 Going On 30 is considered one of the best rom-coms of all time.
This shyness has seemingly since worn off, because Ruffalo looked like he was having a blast doing the “Thriller” dance with his former co-star, and even posted the video of the dancing himself. Maybe it was his outrageous rake character in Poor Things that officially broke the actor out of his shell, or possibly the tight body suits he had to wear while playing The Hulk. Whatever it is, I’m glad he has chosen to embrace his killer dance moves over the years, and has grown to love the 13 Going On 30 scene as much as we do.
You can revisit Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner’s smooth moves in 13 Going On 30, which is now streaming with a Netflix subscription. Fans of the actor should also check out his Oscar nominated performance in Poor Things, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide, and is considered to be one of the best films of 2023.