Ruffalo at Sundance last year. (AP)
"Who needs the headache of being attacked by Fox News or Rush Limbaugh?"
-- Mark Ruffalo, actor, director, occasional newspaper editor and Occupy Wall Street visitor, on his respect for fellow actors who are hesitant to join the protesters in lower Manhattan. Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and Kanye West are among the stars who have visited Zuccotti Park since the protests began last month, but others have been cautioned against showing up out of fear of a backlash from critics or the protesters themselves. "With the message constantly changing among the protesters, no one knows where this is all going to end up," the Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman told the Hollywood Reporter. "And celebrities are wealthy people; they have to be careful not to seem disingenuous."
Ruffalo, who compared the protests to the "Arab spring," told the Hollywood Reporter that many actors are "afraid for their job, afraid to speak out, afraid they're going to lose work." It's worth noting that Ruffalo--who earned an Academy Award nomination Best Supporting Actor for "The Kids Are All Right" and stars as The Hulk in the upcoming "Avengers" film--last appeared in a 20th Century Fox-produced movie ("Date Night") in 2010. Both 20th Century Fox and Fox News are owned by News Corp.
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