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Indie movie star Mark Ruffalo has revealed how his young son greeted the exciting news that he is to be the next Hulk with an incredulous “you?”.

The 42-year-old actor, who has made his name playing down-to-earth roles in character-based films, was unveiled last week as the new Hulk in the upcoming superhero film The Avengers.

But when he shared the news with his nine-year-old son Keen, he said the boy was as surprised as he was that he had landed the role.

He told CBS’ the Early Show: “I had the same reaction my son had – ‘You, papa? The Hulk?’”

Ruffalo, who will be playing the green superhero’s civilian alter-ego, the meek scientist Bruce Banner – alongside Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America – said that he is pleased he won’t have to hit the gym for the role, unlike most action actors.

“What I like about it is they really want my character to be the everyman, which means they want me to gain 10 more pounds [instead],” he joked.

Ruffalo will be the third actor to play the role in recent years, after Eric Bana’s turn in the 2003 movie Hulk and Edward Norton’s more successful take in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

But Norton, who was accused of meddling with his film’s creative direction, was controversially dropped by Marvel just days before Ruffalo was unveiled at last week’s Comic-Con festival.

The Avengers is set for release in 2012, and will bring together some of Marvel’s most famous comic-book superheroes, including Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Thor, played by Ca$h star Chris Hemsworth.

Source: Splash News

Friend of Michael Jackson and Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno has claimed Michael Jackson’s $400 million debt killed him.

Ferrigno, 50, said: “He was under tremendous stress, so much I think it killed him. He was $400 million in debt.

“In the past, he had backed out of doing live shows but this time he was under the gun. The debts put a huge strain on him.”

Ferrigno, who had recently been training with Jackson, 50, and known him personally since 1995, said: “Our friend had a bunch of guests over. Michael was there and I was introduced to him.

“The friend had a gym and I walked over to it and Michael kept staring at me. He was acting really shy. Eventually we got talking. Michael needed to get ready for his HIStory world tour, so I told him to train with me.

“He came to my house in Santa Monica and that’s how I became a close friend. He was great, a nice guy, really sweet. He was self-conscious about people staring at him, people touching him, wanting a piece of him

“But he let his guard down when he was with me. There was no show.”

The Hulk would make a trip three times a week to Jackson’s home to train with him ahead of the singer’s gruelling 50-date O2 Arena tour booking in the UK.

Ferrigno said Jackson had undergone a five-hour medical four months before his sudden death on June 25 and ‘had passed with flying colours, but he wanted to be fitter’.

Source: Splash News