Mark Ruffalo reveals the one thing he learned about FBI agents while working with them for new film role
Warning: spoilers ahead
Mark Ruffalo has revealed the one thing he has learned about FBI agents while working on his new movie.
The actor, 57, who stars as FBI agent Tom Brandis in the new HBO series, Task, recently explained how he prepared for his role, revealing that he learned some pointers from the now-retired FBI special agent, Scott Duffey.
Task is set in Philadelphia and follows FBI agent Brandis as he leads a task force to try and put a stop to a string of violent robberies.
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It also stars Tom Pelphrey as Robbie Prendergast, a single dad who's trying to give his family a fresh start.
While working as a rubbish collector, Robbie scopes out a number of properties to rob, and eventually ends up being suspected by the FBI.
“The tension of the story is that you care about both of these guys,” screenwriter Brad Ingelsby told The Hollywood Reporter.
“You want Robbie to get away and you want Tom to get a win. But you know that can’t happen.”
The cast also includes Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, Sam Keeley, Thuso Mbedu, Fabien Frankel and Alison Oliver.
To prepare for the role, Ruffalo explained how he spent a lot of time in Philadelphia, mainly eating a lot of sandwiches, but he also learnt something invaluable from Duffey.
Speaking to PEOPLE at the premiere for Task, he explained: “I learned that the best FBI agents have a lot of empathy."
He also added: "I ate a lot of Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. I just put a bunch of weight on!”
Ruffalo arrived at his first costume fitting having been requested to put on 30-40 pounds for the role.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ruffalo explained that the designers fitted him with a pregnant belly to achieve his look.
“Then when I went in for my camera test, the producers saw me and their jaws hit the ground,” he said.
“They were like, ‘We don’t want to see Mark Ruffalo like this!’ But I think it’s these impediments that make Tom such a dynamic FBI agent because he makes up for it in other ways. And, I did come to find out from Scott Duffy, our technical advisor from the FBI, that people like Tom are good agents because of their compassion with people and ability to interview them.”
In the UK, Task is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
While it only dropped this week, it's so far bagged an 89 percent Tomatometer score and a 71 percent Popcornmeter rating.
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Entertainment, HBO
Lucy Devine