Mark Ruffalo found brain tumour "size of a golf ball" after bizarre dream
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Mark Ruffalo has revealed that a dream led him to a scary brain tumour diagnosis.
Speaking on podcast SmartLess, hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Ruffalo revealed the story of his psychic dream while shooting film The Last Castle over two decades ago.
"I woke up around three and I just had this crazy dream. It was just like, 'You have a brain tumour'. It wasn’t even a voice, it was just pure knowledge," he recalled.
"Like, 'You have a brain tumour and you have to deal with it immediately.'"
The next day, Ruffalo told the doctor on set and got a scan at the hospital. While he had no symptoms, he was suffering from an ear infection – which turned out to be something a lot more serious.
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"I could hear the doctors talking," he recalled. "She comes in and is kind of like a zombie, and she says, 'You have a mass on your left ear the size of a golf ball. We don’t know what it is. We can’t tell until it’s had a biopsy.'"
Ruffalo initially didn’t tell his wife, who was heavily pregnant at the time, and had an operation to remove the tumour.
While it turned out to be benign, the procedure left the star completely deaf in one ear — though the effects could have been much worse.
The Poor Things actor said: "When I woke up, the left side of my face was totally paralysed. Like I couldn’t even close my eye and was talking out the side of my mouth.
"They said to me I had a 20% chance of nicking my nerve on the left side of my face and killing it and a 70% chance of losing my hearing, which went."
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But clearly the actor didn't let his health issue slow him down.
Ruffalo received an Oscar nomination earlier this week for his supporting role in Poor Things alongside co-star Emma Stone, and he shared his touching response on X (formerly known as Twitter).
He wrote: "I have the unbelievable privilege of making movies as a job. To be recognised by The Academy among the best is an honour that exceeds all ones expectations as an actor… Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Poor Things is out now in cinemas.
Organisations including Brain Tumour Research, Macmillan Cancer Support and Stand Up to Cancer can provide help and support to those living with brain cancer and their loved ones.
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