Mark Ruffalo sheds light on mental illnesses as he accepts SAG Award

Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo won big at the Screen Actors Guild Award on Sunday.

As the 53-year-old accepted his award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a miniseries or television movie for I Know This Much Is True, he spoke about the issue of mental health, around which his HBO miniseries was centered.

“Acting doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens between people in a magical place, created by a director like Derek Cianfrance and a writer like Wally Lamb,” said the Hulk actor.

“Mental illness is a real thing, and I just think it’s really important that we’re honest and open about it and have no fear and no shame. So, thank you so much,” he added.

In the miniseries, Ruffalo played the roles of twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, with the latter suffering from schizophrenia in an asylum from which his brother helps him escape.