Acting is now a family business for the Ruffalo clan. Keen Ruffalo, the son of Mark Ruffalo and Sunrise Coigney, revealed the reason why he ventured into acting. The 25-year-old wasn’t interested in performing as a profession, but had a change of heart during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Appearing on the “Today” show, the “Sterling Point” star opened up about making the decision. Keen also delved into what his famous father had to say about his big life decision.
Keen Ruffalo Initially Wanted To Work In Fashion
Keen showed little interest in his father’s profession at first. Back in 2015, Mark Ruffalo revealed his children didn’t think he was “cool.” In an interview with Us Weekly, the Marvel star recounted his children’s lack of enthusiasm.
“They’re like, ‘You’re not that cool,’” Ruffalo said to the outlet. “‘Why do you keep saying no to me?’ ‘Why don’t I get my computer all the time?’”
Keen had stayed true to his disinterest in acting until 2020. The now-actor had enrolled in college for fashion design but lost interest during quarantine.
“It was around COVID, and it got to that point where everyone’s really burning out from being inside,” Keen said in his “Today” interview. “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.”
According to Keen, it was “COVID depression” that got him to reevaluate his life. The change in perspective motivated him to leave his studies and switch lanes.
“We ended up kind of separating for COVID, and yeah, I got the COVID depression, as many people did,” he continued. “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.’”
Mark Ruffalo Wasn’t Too Certain About Keen’s Decision
Keen has proven his determination after landing a leading role in “Sterling Point.” However, Mark Ruffalo needed verbal confirmation before giving his son his blessing.
In his “Today” interview, Keen admitted his father was on board but wanted to know if Keen had his heart in it.
“Yeah, he was definitely supportive, but he was like, ‘You sure you want to do this?’” Keen laughed, talking about Mark’s initial hesitance.
For what it’s worth, Mark didn’t need much convincing. The A-lister had some wise words to impart to his lookalike son when Keen asked for advice.
In a September 2025 interview with iHeart Canada, Keen spoke about his father’s profound advice to him.
“Consistency,” he told the outlet. “You have to do so many auditions; eventually you are going to land one. I’ve had to go through so many before I got even this one, and it’ll start to pick up after that, but it’s a lot,” he said his dad advised him. “It takes a lot, and it sometimes sucks, and it’s hard to keep that up after you get told no so many times, but it’s after however many ever you are going to find one that’s perfect.”
Keen Ruffalo can be seen in Amazon Prime Video’s “Sterling Point.” The drama series premiered on August 5, 2026.
Ella Rubin leads the series as a young woman who inherits her grandfather’s mysterious island and begins a new life. Keen plays her character’s twin brother.
Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo recently appeared in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” The film has been setting box office records ever since its premiere.
