How Mark Ruffalo Reacted to Son Keen Ruffalo Becoming an Actor

“It got to that point where everyone’s really burning out [from] being inside,” Keen told Today’s Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer. “I started my freshman year of college, just before Covid happened, and I was going for fashion design originally. I dropped out not long after we ended up separating for Covid.”

After experiencing “Covid depression,” the Nimrods star realized he “needed a change.”

“I was lost at the time,” he admitted. “I saw that acting made my dad so happy, and I was like, ‘Listen, I need to try something new.’”

And though Keen is making waves for his first major role as Connor Jacobson, the laid-back twin brother to Ella Rubin’s Annie in Sterling Point—and will next be seen in the road comedy Nimrods—his journey to his debut came with many challenges.

“I wasn’t auditioning at the start, obviously. My dad didn’t want to hand me or my siblings anything because it’s just not how he was raised,” he shared in an interview with Cultured published Aug. 4. “So I went to a couple of the major schools and studied different acting techniques. I’m a huge nerd when it comes to acting technique. That’s my bread and butter. I could go on for hours about it.”

As for a notable turning point? When Mark—also dad to Bella, 21, and Odette, 18, with Sunrise—saw his son in action.

“[He] came and saw one of my plays one day, and he’s like, ‘All right, I think you’re ready to do this,’ after I’d studied for a year or two,’” Keen recalled. “Then, it took me another three years of still taking classes and auditions to finally land Nimrods and Sterling Point. I’d probably done at that point upwards of 100 auditions.”

For a closer look at more stars and their mini-me kids, keep reading…