Mark Ruffalo was recently honoured with a coveted star on the hallowed Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. At the ceremony, long time co-star and friend Jennifer Garner spilled the beans on the world was almost robbed of a pop culture moment 20 years ago. The actress shared an anecdote from the duo's pop culture classic film, 13 Going on 30, revealing how the Hulk actor had almost quit the film.

When Mark Ruffalo almost walked out of 13 Going on 30

For the unversed, a key segment in the film saw Ruffalo's Matt 'Matty' Flamhaff, save a dead party by recreating the choreography of  Michael Jackson's iconic Thriller. Just as the scene makes for a highlight in the film, so did the rehearsals for the same. Garner shared how Ruffalo was so perplexed with the choreography and the prospect of performing it in front of the camera, he almost decided to pull out of the film.

Addressing the anecdote to Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Keira Knightley who were part of the Walk of Fame ceremony, she shared, "I wonder if these esteemed ladies enjoyed Mark's anxiety as much as I did. I wonder if he tried to drop out of their films, like he did out of ours after the first rehearsal of the Thriller dance where Mark went from kind of shocked that we actually had to do this, to antsy, to deathly quiet, to 'Bro, this is not for me'."

Jennifer Garner credits Mark Ruffalo for personifying the quintessential rom-com hero

As part of her speech, Garner referred to Ruffalo's expansive expertise in the romantic comedy department. Speaking about the success that engulfed him in the genre she added how "the scruffy hair, the untucked cute button down, both of which became like the norm for cute guys everywhere for the next 20 years."

For the unversed, 13 Going on 30 features Jennifer Garner plays the adult version of Jenna Rink, a teen who wakes up to find herself a 30-year-old magazine editor in 2004. Besides the wildly popular rom-com, Garner and Ruffalo have also shared screen space in the much more recent The Adam Project, which released in 2022.

(with inputs from IANS)