Actor Mark Ruffalo will be honored with the American Riviera Award at the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Ruffalo will receive the award on Feb. 11 at an in-person conversation about his career, leading up to this year’s performance as Ducan Wedderburn in the upcoming Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things.”
Emmy winner and three-time Academy Award nominee, Ruffalo is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. He was nominated for Academy Awards for his roles in “Spotlight,” “Foxcatcher” and “The Kids are Alright.”
He won the Emmy and the Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of twin brothers in “I Know This Much is True,” and won a Screen Actors Guild for his role in Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart.”
In addition to Searchlight Pictures’ “Poor Things” Ruffalo also will be seen in Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming “Mickey 17.”
Ruffalo’s commitment extends beyond the silver screen, as exemplified in his lead role in “Dark Waters,” a film that leveraged the power of storytelling to shed light on the urgent need for environmental protections. His advocacy for clean energy and environmental and social justice aligns seamlessly with the stories and characters he brings to life on screen.
“Ruffalo has been such a remarkable performer for years — deserving all the honors year after year — but his go-for-broke acting in ‘Poor Things’ is a revelation. An extraordinary talent that just keeps outdoing himself,” said SBIFF’s executive director Roger Durling.
Behind the camera, Ruffalo has produced numerous projects, many of which bring attention to the fight for indigenous rights, environmental concerns and the communities most affected by the climate crisis. Most recently, he produced “Lakota Nation vs. United States,” “Invisible Hand” and “Dear President Obama: The Clean Energy Revolution Is Now.”
Ruffalo is a co-founder and board member of The Solutions Project, a national organization with a mission to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy and equitable access to healthy air, water, and soils by supporting climate justice organizations, especially those led by women of color.
He received the Global Green Millennium Award for Environmental Leadership, the Meera Gandhi Giving Back Foundation Award, The Big Fish Award from Riverkeeper, and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Artists Inspiration Award in 2019 for using his creative and professional success as a performing artist to advance philanthropic and humanitarian causes.
The American Riviera Award was established to recognize actors who have made a significant contribution to American Cinema. Previous recipients include Brendan Fraser, Kristen Stewart, Delroy Lindo, Renée Zellweger, Viggo Mortenson, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane.
The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place live Feb. 7-17. Passes for the 2024 Festival are on sale at sbiff.org.