Keen Ruffalo says ‘COVID depression’ made him become an actor
Keen Ruffalo went to college to become a fashion designer but decided to abandon his dream after he suffered from “COVID depression”
Keen Ruffalo ditched his fashion design studies to become an actor after he suffered from “COVID depression”
Keen Ruffalo and his dad, Mark Ruffalo
The 25-year-old entertainer dropped out of college after the pandemic sent him and his freshman-year cohort home, and seeing how happy performing made his 58-year-old dad, Mark Ruffalo, inspired Keen to abandon his dreams of being a fashion designer and follow in his footsteps
Appearing on NBC’s The Today Show on Friday (07.08.26), the Sterling Point cast member recalled: “It was around COVID, and it got to that point where everyone’s really burning out from being inside
“I was starting my freshman year of college just before COVID happened, and I was going for fashion design originally, and I dropped out not long after
“We ended up kind of separating for COVID, and yeah, I got the COVID depression, as many people did. And I needed a change, and I was lost at the time, and so I saw that acting made my dad so happy and I was like, ‘Listen, I need to try something new.'”
The Avengers star Mark backed his son’s career switch but still asked if he was sure
Laughing, Keen said: “Yeah, he was definitely supportive, but he was like, ‘You sure you want to do this?'”
Mark and his 53-year-old wife, Sunrise Coigney, are also parents to daughters Bella, 21, and 18-year-old Odette
In January, the Crime 101 alum said he would not rule out swapping his illustrious acting career for “doing something good” for millions of Americans as a politician
Mark told Us Weekly: “It isn’t on my game card right now, but who knows. I mean, you never say never
“I mean, I spent a lot of time in that world, and acting – it’s for the people. So, I love the people, and politicians could be doing something good for the people.”
He then lauded New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, 34, who ran as a Democratic Socialist and made history during his swearing-in ceremony on January 1 when he became the first prominent US politician to take the oath on a Quran
Mark said: “Seeing Mamdani’s win in New York has really excited me about what’s possible in the United States right now.”
The Mickey 17 cast member – who has been a fierce critic of 80-year-old US President Donald Trump – believes the country needs a new political direction that serves working people, as the Democratic and Republican parties have “become completely captured by corporations”
Mark said: “It’s bulls***. And the people in America are suffering. If the people in America weren’t suffering, we wouldn’t be where we are right now
“You know, it’s a failure on both parties. They become completely captured by corporations, both parties. And it’s time for a new America that is for the working people who were the plurality of this country.”
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