Maybe Mark Ruffalo is spending too much time on movie sets these days.
The intense actor, best known for his work in ‘The Kids Are All Right’ and ‘You Can Count on Me,’ is under the delusion his fellow actors could lose gigs if they embrace liberal causes like Occupy Wall Street. He told The Hollywood Reporter that celebrities who show up at the protests in New York City could be putting their paychecks at risk:
Ruffalo suspects a large number of celebrities who privately support the Occupy Wall Street critique are wary of publicly expressing that sentiment. They are “afraid for their job, afraid to speak out, afraid they’re going to lose work.” Plus, he adds, “Who needs the headache of being attacked by Fox News or Rush Limbaugh?”
Ruffalo embraces the same false narrative echoed during the Bush era – actors who speak out could somehow be punished for their comments. Celebrities did just that for eight solid years against President George W. Bush in clear defiance of Limbaugh. Did we hear any sob stories about, say, Danny Glover or Susan Sarandon losing lucrative assignments for speaking “truth” to power over the last decade? The worst that happened to outspoken liberal Tim Robbins was being booted from a Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony.
Ruffalo is actually right in one respect. Audiences will turn away from actors who embrace extremist causes. The Hollywood Reporter’s own staff proved this recently. If consumers decided not to support stars who insult their politics, well, that’s another matter.
But can you imagine a studio, director or casting agent pondering a particular actor for a role and dismissing them for being chummy with anti-capitalist types?