Sure, Poor Things is getting a lot of attention this awards season, but Jennifer Garner is on a mission to remind us of a different Mark Ruffalo era. On Thursday, Garner stopped by Hollywood Boulevard to honor Ruffalo as he received a star on the Walk of Fame. Although she faced several obstacles — she had to write her speech while on the way to the event as a last-minute replacement for a COVID-struck Laura Dern, and her glasses snapped on the podium — nothing could stop her from delivering her message. Garner explained that while other speeches had praised Ruffalo’s work ethic, devotion to his craft, activism, humanity, and friendship, she could offer something else. “Honestly, I don’t know what you would’ve done without me, thank God I showed up. I have got to be here to honor and elucidate rom-com Ruffalo,†she said, to audience cheers and a heel-click from Ruffalo.
After reflecting that Ruffalo’s scruffy hair and untucked button-down became the “norm for cute guys everywhere for the next 20 years,†Garner noted that Ruffalo tried to quit 13 Going on 30 after the first rehearsal of their “Thriller†dance. Even now that he’s doing “more serious work,†she still sees a “throughline†in his approach to a character like Matty and a character like Duncan. There’s a “common thread of anxiety, of clarity of purpose, of understanding of story, of standing up for your characters, being a person of character, showing up for your co-stars, bringing your family with you into every moment of every scene, and showing up with joy,†Garner said. “To work with you, Mark, is to love you. I don’t care what anyone says.†Not bad for a speech that was written in the car!